Rebel Writers: The Accidental Feminists: Shelagh Delaney . Edna O'Brien . Lynne Reid Banks . Charlotte Bingham . Nell Dunn . Virginia Ironside . Margaret Forster

by Celia Brayfield

Overview

The first book about a generation of women writers who challenged the world.

"Make this your next inspirational read. Trust us, it's Oprah's Book Club worthy."—Vice

In London in 1958, a play by a 19-year-old redefined women's writing in Britain. It also began a movement that would change women's lives forever. The play was A Taste of Honey and the author, Shelagh Delaney, was the first in a succession of young women who wrote about their lives with an honesty that dazzled the world. They rebelled against sexism, inequality and prejudice and in doing so challenged the existing definitions of what writing and writers should be. Bypassing the London cultural elite, their work reached audiences of millions around the world, paved the way for profound social changes and laid the foundations of second-wave feminism.

After Delaney came Edna O'Brien, Lynne Reid-Banks, Charlotte Bingham, Nell Dunn, Virginia Ironside and Margaret Forster; an extraordinarily disparate group who were united in their determination to shake the traditional concepts of womanhood in novels, films, television, essays and journalism. They were as angry as the Angry Young Men, but were also more constructive and proposed new ways to live and love in the future. They did not intend to become a literary movement but they did, inspiring other writers to follow. Not since the Brontës have a group of young women been so determined to tell the truth about what it is like to be a girl.

In this biographical study, the acclaimed author, Celia Brayfield, tells their story for the first time.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781448217502
Publisher:	Bloomsbury USA
Publication date:	09/21/2021
Pages:	272
Sales rank:	322,446
Product dimensions:	6.42(w) x 7.97(h) x 0.72(d)

About the Author

Celia Brayfield is an author whose nine novels range from modern social fiction to international bestsellers. Her subjects are mostly women, working through changes in themselves and the world. This is her fifth non-fiction book and her earlier work includes a study of celebrity culture, travel writing and classic writing guides.

She teaches Creative Writing at Bath Spa University. Her first career was as a journalist, working mostly for The Times and the Evening Standard. She has one daughter and lives in Dorset.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Part 1 Seven Writers 17

1 Innocence and Experience 19

2 A Man's World: Sexism 54

3 Forbidden Kisses: Class 70

4 All False: Love 80

5 'I Wish I Had a Career': Aspiration 87

6 The Great Unmentionable: Sex 94

7 Drowning in Delight: Motherhood 104

8 A Rotten Bargain: Marriage 118

9 Good Old John: Race 127

10 Before the Urban Family: Friendship 137

Part 2 Out into the World 149

11 'Where is your Baby?' 151

12 Losing It at the Movies: Screen Adaptation 162

13 A Stain Upon Womanhood 178

14 The Angry Young Men: The Literary Movement That Never Was 188

15 Backwards in High Heels: Success And After 202

16 We Were Pioneers 238

Epilogue 242

Endnotes 247

Bibliography 254

Acknowledgements 260

Index 262

Editorial Reviews

...smoothly and elegantly written and as readable as any novel. Six writers to whom we owe a debt of gratitude, all in their own ways sowing the seeds of how we live today. Marvellously interesting!” —Fay Weldon

“Make this your next inspirational read. Trust us, it's Oprah's Book Club worthy.” —Vice

From the Publisher