In the 1890s one phrase above all stood as shorthand for the various controversies over gender that swirled throughout the period: “the New Woman.” In New Women fiction, progressive writers such as Sarah Grand, George Egerton, and Ella D’Arcy gave imaginative life to the plight of modern women—and reactionaries such as Grant Allen attempted to put women back in their place. In all the leading journals of the day these and other writers argued their cases in essays, letters, and reviews as well as in fiction. This anthology brings together for the first time a representative selection of the most important, interesting, and influential of New Woman writings.
Comments
“This is a timely and marvelously useful anthology. Packed full of unabridged key documents from the period, Nelson’s A New Woman Reader is a significant contribution to the burgeoning field of fin-de-siècle studies. It will also be an invaluable teaching tool: the choice of contextual material to support the short stories and New Woman play is unerringly judicious.” — Sally Ledger, Birkbeck College, University of London
“This collection of essential texts, introducing and discussing the figure of the ‘New Woman,’ is a wonderful, stimulating mix of the new and the familiar. Diverse in genre and tone, this volume will interest both the academic and the general reader. Intelligently and informatively edited, it is a most timely and welcome anthology.” — Kate Flint, Oxford University
INTRODUCTION
A NOTE ON THE TEXT
PART I: SHORT STORIES BY NEW WOMAN WRITERS
INTRODUCTION
GEORGE EGERTON
“A Cross Line”
“Now Spring Has Come”
SARAH GRAND
“The Undefinable”
NETTA SYRETT
“Thy Heart’s Desire”
VICTORIA CROSS
“Theodora. A Fragment”
ADA RADFORD
“Lot 99”
MABEL E. WOTTON
“The Hour of Her Life”
ELLA D’ARCY
“White Magic”
PART II: ARTICLES
THE DEBATE OVER WOMEN’S SUFFRAGE
“An Appeal Against Female Suffrage” Nineteenth Century
“The Appeal Against Female Suffrage: A Reply. I” Millicent Garrett
Fawcett
“The Appeal Against Female Suffrage: A Reply. II” M.M. Dilke
“A Jingle of the Franchise” Shafts
SARAH GRAND ON THE NEW WOMAN: HER CRITICS RESPOND
“The New Aspect of the Woman Question” Sarah Grand
“The Man of the Moment” Sarah Grand
“A Ballade of the New Manhood” Punch
“The New Woman” Punch
“The New Woman” Ouida
“The Woman’s Question. An Interview with Madame Sarah Grand”
Humanitarian
“Science and the Rights of Women” H.E. Harvey
“Foibles of the New Woman” Ella W. Winston
“The Eternal Feminine” Boyd Winchester
THE MARRIAGE QUESTION
“Marriage” Mona Caird
“Does Marriage Hinder a Woman’s Self-Development?” Mona Caird
“Does Marriage Hinder a Woman’s Self-Development?” Gertrude
Atherton
“A Young Woman’s Right: Knowledge” Julia M.A. Hawksley
“The Voice of Woman” H.E. Harvey
“Plain Words on the Woman Question” Grant Allen
THE ATTACK ON THE NEW WOMAN WRITERS
“Donna Quixote” Punch
“She-Notes” Punch
“She-Notes. Part II” Punch
“Tommyrotics” Hugh E.M. Stutfield
“The Psychology of Feminism” Hugh E.M. Stutfield
“The Physical Insensibility of Woman” Cesare Lombroso
THE REVOLTING DAUGHTERS
“The Revolt of the Daughters” B.A. Crackanthorpe
“A Reply From the Daughters” Alys W. Pearsall Smith
“The Revolt of the Daughters” May Jeune
“The Revolt of the Daughters. An Answer—By One of Them” Gertrude
Hemery
“The Evolution of the Daughters” Sarah M. Amos
PART III: DRAMA
INTRODUCTION
SYDNEY GRUNDY
The New Woman. An Original Comedy, in Four Acts
FURTHER READING
Carolyn Christensen Nelson teaches English and Women’s Studies at West Virginia University, and has published widely on nineteenth-century literature.
