What Diantha Did [Paperback]

Charlotte Perkins Gilman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 6, 2007

Charlotte Perkins Gilman was an early 20th century American social reformer. She wrote non-fiction, poetry, short stories, and novels. This first novel was published in 1909 in serial form. Diantha leaves her fiancé to start a housekeeping business. She is quite the businesswoman and is able to include in her business a food delivery service, maid service, restaurant, and hotel. Her goal is to make housekeeping a professional career for working girls.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Charlotte J. Rich has brought to light the complex history of Gilman’s insistence that housework be professionalized. In this compelling edition, we see how Gilman addressed the ‘servant question’ in light of national anxieties about race and ethnicity, class mobility, and sexual harassment. Terrific for American studies courses, What Diantha Did demonstrates Gilman’s belief that middle-class women could be saved by the invention of ‘kitchenless houses’ and professional housekeeping.”—Dale Bauer, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

“Charlotte Perkins Gilman is an important figure in both literary and intellectual history, and it’s good to have this entertaining book back in print. It’s a fascinating example of the strengths and weaknesses of the lost tradition of ‘material feminism.’ Charlotte J. Rich frames the novel in its historical moment and makes it even more readable and valuable.”—June Howard, University of Michigan

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

About the Author

Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860–1935) was the author of novels, short stories, poems, and works of nonfiction. She is best known for “The Yellow Wall-Paper” (1892), Women and Economics (1898), and the novel Herland (1915). Her novel The Crux (1910) is also published by Duke University Press.
Charlotte J. Rich is Associate Professor of English at Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond, Kentucky. She is editor of The Charlotte Perkins Gilman Newsletter.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 172 pages
• Publisher: Book Jungle (December 6, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1604246685
• ISBN-13: 978-1604246681
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,317,859 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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