Paperback Edition
ISBN: 978-1-55861-007-1
Publication Date: 04-01-1989

Introduction by Elaine Showalter

In 1926 and 1927 The Nation published these seventeen anonymous essays by "women active in professional and public life," designed to "discover the origin of their modern point of view toward men, marriage, children, and jobs." In her introduction, Elaine Showalter discusses the issues raised by the essays and identifies and examines the lives of their authors.

"[This is] an exciting book, painful and exhilarating too. . . . What do they have to tell us, these letters from the feminist attic? Why publish them now . . . ? For a number of reasons. First, experience is not all that different. These essays record the continuing effort necessary if women are to become the human creatures they want to be." — Elizabeth Janeway, author of Man's World Woman's Place

"These brief, often bitter-sweet reflections on their lives by a group of 1920s feminists reveal aspects of our struggle from a time that is too readily overlooked. Elaine Showalter's provocative and interesting introduction makes clear that we neglect this period at our peril. In calling our attention to facts we might prefer to ignore, Showalter performs an important service." —Alix Kates Shulman, author of Drinking the Rain