Between 1926 and 1927, The Nation published seventeen anonymous essays written by women, and, reprinted in this volume, the essays are analyzed, their authors identified, and the need for their anonymity discussed

Describes the female literary tradition in the English novel and the social backgrounds of the women who composed it (view table of contents)

Essays discuss American literature, feminist poetics, Black and Lesbian feminist criticism, and women's writing

Product Description: In this informative, timely and often harrowing study, Elaine Showalter demonstrates how cultural ideas about 'proper' feminine behaviour have shaped the definition and treatment of female insanity for 150 years, and given mental disorder in women specifically sexual connotations...read more

Gathers lesser known essays and stories by Alcott, offers a brief profile of the writer, and discusses major themes in her work

Explores the work of American women writers, including Louisa May Alcott, Edith Wharton, Kate Chopin, and the Harlem renaissance writers

Looks at parallels between the ends of the 19th and 20th centuries and their representations in literature, art and film. This book ranges over the trial of Oscar Wilde, the furore over prostitution and syphilis, the breakdown of the family, abortion rights and AIDS.

Joyce Carol Oates’s prize-winning story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” takes up troubling subjects that continue to occupy her in her fiction: the romantic longings and limited options of adolescent women; the tensions between mothers and daughters; the sexual victimization of women; and the American obsession with violence.  Inspired by a magazine story about a serial killer, its remarkable portrait of the dreamy teenager Connie has made it a feminist classic.  Connie’s life anticipates the emergence of American society from the social innocence of the fifties into the harsher contemporary realities of war, random violence, and crime.  The story was the basis for the movie Smooth Talk, which became the subject of much feminist debate.This casebook includes an introduction by the editor, a chronology of Oates’s life, an authoritative text of “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been,” an essay by Oates on Smooth Talk, the original Life article about the serial killer, ten critical essays (including two about the film), and a bibliography.The contributors are Brenda O. Daly, Christina Marsden Gillis, Don Moser, Tom Quirk, B. Ruby Rich, R.J.R. Rockwood, Larry Rubin, Gretchen Schulz, Marie Mitchell Oleson Urbanski, Joyce M. Wegs, Marilyn C. Wesley, and Joan D. Winslow. 

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Offers essays on forty-one women authors

A thought-provoking analysis of the roles of feminist intellectuals from the eighteenth century to the present day examines the contributions of such key figures as Mary Wollstonecraft, Margaret Fuller, Germaine Greer, Susan Sontag, Margaret Mead, and others as she explores common themes and patterns of women's lives. 25,000 first printing. (view table of contents)

Teaching Literature is an inspirational guidebook for all teachers of English and American literature in higher education. Written by leading academic, prolific author and cultural journalist, Elaine Showalter. Original and provocative reflections on teaching literature in higher education. Encourages teachers to make their classroom practice intellectually exciting. Wide-ranging - covers the practical, theoretical, and methodological aspects of teaching literature. Highly practical - employs real examples from real classes and careers throughout. Draws on 40 years of international teaching experience. (view table of contents)

Recounts the life of orphaned college student and aspiring writer Judy Abbott through her letters to her unknown male benefactor, and chronicles the progress of Judy's former orphanage run by idealistic Sallie McBride.