Sisters and Rivals in British Women's Fiction, 1914-39

by D. Wallace

Overview

What happens when two women love the same man? This is the first book to examine female rivalry as a distinctive theme in women's fiction and to analyze the female-identified erotic triangle, where two women are rivals for the same man, as a narrative pattern which has a special resonance for inter-war women writers. Focusing on five key writers, Diana Wallace offers a reconsideration of inter-war women's writing and an examination of the links and rivalries between women writers themselves.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780333774007
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan UK
Publication date:	06/21/2000
Edition description:	2000
Pages:	214
Product dimensions:	5.51(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

About the Author

Diana Wallace is Lecturer in English at the University of Glamorgan.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements Abbreviations Introduction 'An Age of Transition': Historical Context Theorising Female Rivalry Rewriting the Victorians: May Sinclair's Transitional Modernism The 'Other Woman': Rebecca West's 'Difference of View' A 'Shared Working Existence': Vera Brittain and Winifred Holtby 'My Second Self': Winifred Holtby and Vera Brittain The 'Recurring Dream' of Romance: Rosamond Lehmann Conclusion Appendices Notes Bibliography Index

Editorial Reviews

This book examines female rivalry as a distinctive theme in women's fiction. Wallace (English, University of Glamorgan, UK) argues that the female-identified erotic triangle, where two women are rivals for the same man, is a narrative pattern that had a special resonance for women writers in the 1920s and 1930s, when a population imbalance led to a "surplus" of women. Focusing on five key writers<-->May Sinclair, Rebecca West, Vera Britain, Winifred Holtby, and Rosamond Lehmann<-->she combines theoretical and textual criticism to examine the links and rivalries among women writers themselves. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews