Modern British Women Writers: An A-to-Z Guide

(Hardback)

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Description

The 20th century witnessed enormous social, economic, and political changes and gave birth to several cultural movements, including modernism, anti-modernism, and postmodernism. These and other ways of perceiving and understanding a sometimes tumultuous world fostered a rich body of literature marked by generic and stylistic experimentation. With the rise of feminism and a greater concern for the issues facing women, the experiences of the 20th century were responded to most vigorously by women writers. This reference is a guide to the lives, works, and achievements of British women writers of the 20th century. The volume includes alphabetically arranged entries on 58 writers. Some of these writers were born in England, while others, such as Katherine Mansfield and Doris Lessing, came from countries of the former Empire or Commonwealth. So too, the volume includes entries for women of colour, such as Kamala Markandaya and Buchi Emecheta. Each entry is written by an expert contributor and contains an overview of the writer's background, an analysis of her major works, and an assessment of the critical response to her writings. The entries close with primary and secondary bibliographies, and the volume concludes with a selected, general bibliography.

Reviews

.,."a foremost research tool--there is enough pre-conception on the part of the contributors to spark some needed debate....indisputable reference value....Recommended for large academic libraries."-Library Journal
...a foremost research tool--there is enough pre-conception on the part of the contributors to spark some needed debate....indisputable reference value....Recommended for large academic libraries.-Library Journal
Recommended. Libraries with major British literature or women's studies collections.-Choice
This is definately an upper-level reference book on a college reading level. The target group of honor or AP students may be small in number but they are voracious users. I compared this work to our heavily used Gale literary research products, course requirements, and our holdings, and I was very impressed. Recommended.-Library Media Connection
This useful handbook should find a place in libraries serving high-school students and undergraduates as well as the general public.-Booklist/Reference Books Bulletin
..."a foremost research tool--there is enough pre-conception on the part of the contributors to spark some needed debate....indisputable reference value....Recommended for large academic libraries."-Library Journal
"Recommended. Libraries with major British literature or women's studies collections."-Choice
"This useful handbook should find a place in libraries serving high-school students and undergraduates as well as the general public."-Booklist/Reference Books Bulletin
"This is definately an upper-level reference book on a college reading level. The target group of honor or AP students may be small in number but they are voracious users. I compared this work to our heavily used Gale literary research products, course requirements, and our holdings, and I was very impressed. Recommended."-Library Media Connection

Author Bio

VICKI K. JANIK is Associate Professor of English at the State University of New York College at Farmingdale. Her previous books include Fools and Jesters in Literature, Art, and History (Greenwood, 1998). DEL IVAN JANIK is Professor of English at the State University of New York College at Cortland. He has written on British, Irish, and American writers including D. H. Lawrence, Flann O'Brien, Gary Snyder, and A. S. Byatt.