4.0
The Yellow Wall-Paper, Herland, and Selected Writings
ByPublisher Description
A collection of the groundbreaking feminist writer's most famous works, with a thought-provoking introduction by bestselling author Kate Bolick
Wonderfully sardonic and slyly humorous, the writings of landmark American feminist and socialist thinker Charlotte Perkins Gilman were penned in response to her frustrations with the gender-based double standard that prevailed in America as the twentieth century began. Perhaps best known for her chilling depiction of a woman's mental breakdown in her unforgettable 1892 short story 'The Yellow Wall-Paper', Gilman also wrote Herland, a wry novel that imagines a peaceful, progressive country from which men have been absent for two thousand years. Both are included in this volume, along with a selection of Gilman's major short stories and her poems. New York Times bestselling author Kate Bolick contributes an illuminating introduction that explores Gilman's fascinating yet complicated life.
For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
Wonderfully sardonic and slyly humorous, the writings of landmark American feminist and socialist thinker Charlotte Perkins Gilman were penned in response to her frustrations with the gender-based double standard that prevailed in America as the twentieth century began. Perhaps best known for her chilling depiction of a woman's mental breakdown in her unforgettable 1892 short story 'The Yellow Wall-Paper', Gilman also wrote Herland, a wry novel that imagines a peaceful, progressive country from which men have been absent for two thousand years. Both are included in this volume, along with a selection of Gilman's major short stories and her poems. New York Times bestselling author Kate Bolick contributes an illuminating introduction that explores Gilman's fascinating yet complicated life.
For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
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4.0
Abby Garrison
Created about 2 months agoShare
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Masha
Created 4 months agoShare
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“'Herland': An excellent speculative novel, where utopia titters on the brink of dystopia of the real world. Many curious concepts raising provocative questions. Literarily, it reminded me partly of Gulliver's Travels and Robinson Crusoe (probably because of all the 'world building', lifestyle and routine descriptions), partly of The Time Machine (which was written a lot closer to 'Herland' in time, too — this, certainly, because of the speculative social aspect and the gloomy dystopian undertones). 'Herland' isn't particularly striking plot-wise, but it will surely stay with me, at the back of my mind, for the longest time. ('Bee Wise' from the short story collection somewhat echoes 'Herland')
Short stories: I found there to be two types of short stories — the horror ones and the fairytale ones. The horror ones, in turn, may be subdivided into simply creepy (I can see Stephan King drawing inspiration from some of them) and deeply disturbing, rooted in real world struggles (these were the ones I liked most, of course). The fairytale ones are a sort of feminist fantasy fables. Unexpectedly, I absolutely loved these! I loved that everyone got what they deserved and the feminist justice prevailed every time. They felt friendly and encouraging and exuded a feeling of solidarity and sisterhood, even across all the years between us.
The short stories I especially enjoyed (though really, I enjoyed most of them):
'Through This' (tragic, unnerving and extremely relevant)
'Mrs Beazley's Deeds', 'The Chair of English' (both excellent examples of said feminist fables)
'Making a Change', 'His Mother' (profound inter generational sisterhood)
Overall, Charlotte Gilman's writing reads unbelievably current and relevant. Many of her ideas appear quite controversial — but of course some of them would now over 100 years later. What's more important is how many of her ideas are, on the contrary, sound and progressive. It's amazing to see just how progressive her thinking had been, considering it developed back in 1890s-1900s. It's also saddening to realise how progressive (read: weird; scandalous) it might seem to many even today. Feminism has come a long way. But it has a long way to go still.
P.S. I am not well versed in feminist writings, so I have little to compare Gilman's work to. I still feel I can give her due credit for a combination of strong narratives, powerful writing, and progressive concepts (especially considering the time period in which she lived and worked).”
alexa villalobos 💭
Created 5 months agoShare
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“it killed me slowly to read it and murdered my streak of reading 3-4 books a week, leading me into a SLUMP ERA (I hate forcing myself to finish it)”
Emilia Lou
Created 5 months agoShare
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About Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860-1935) was born in New England, a descendant of the prominent and influential Beecher family. In 1884 she married Charles Water Stetson. After giving birth, Charlotte sank into a deep depression. She entered a sanitarium in Philadelphia to undergo the 'rest cure', a controversial treatment, which forbade any type of physical activity or intellectual stimulation. In 1892, she published the now-famous story “The Yellow Wall-Paper.” In 1898, her most famous nonfiction book, Women and Economics, was published. With its publication, and subsequent translation into seven languages, Gilman earned international acclaim. In 1900, she married her first cousin, George Houghton Gilman. Over the next thirty-five years, she wrote and published hundreds of stories and poems and more than a dozen books.
Kate Bolick’s first book, the best-selling Spinster: Making a Life of One’s Own, was named a New York Times Notable Book of 2015. A contributing editor for The Atlantic, Bolick is also host of “Touchstones at The Mount,” an annual interview series at Edith Wharton’s country estate, in Lenox, Massachusetts. Previously, she was executive editor of Domino magazine, and a columnist for The Boston Globe’s Ideas section. She teaches writing at New York University, in both the Cultural Reporting and Criticism MA program and the Gallatin School of Individualized Study. Bolick speaks frequently at colleges and conferences, and has appeared on the Today show, CBS Sunday Morning, CNN, MSNBC, and numerous NPR programs across the country.
Kate Bolick’s first book, the best-selling Spinster: Making a Life of One’s Own, was named a New York Times Notable Book of 2015. A contributing editor for The Atlantic, Bolick is also host of “Touchstones at The Mount,” an annual interview series at Edith Wharton’s country estate, in Lenox, Massachusetts. Previously, she was executive editor of Domino magazine, and a columnist for The Boston Globe’s Ideas section. She teaches writing at New York University, in both the Cultural Reporting and Criticism MA program and the Gallatin School of Individualized Study. Bolick speaks frequently at colleges and conferences, and has appeared on the Today show, CBS Sunday Morning, CNN, MSNBC, and numerous NPR programs across the country.
Other books by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
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