The Woman Who Did (Oxford Popular Fiction) [Paperback]

Grant Allen (Author), Sarah Wintle (Editor)

Book Description

Series: Oxford Popular Fiction | Publication Date: June 29, 1995

The most notorious of the so-called "New Woman" novels of the 1890s--a type of fiction inspired by contemporary debates about women's education, family life, and sexual independence--The Woman Who Did was controversial from the start and eventually became a bestseller. Determined to arrange her own life, Herminia Barton enters a relationship ouside of marriage with the lawyer Alan Merrick, and the consequences of that decision test her resolve to the very limit. Flying in the face of convention, Allen intended the book as a protest against the subjection of women, but feminists including Millicent Fawcett condemned both Allen and the novel.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Ruddick's new edition of The Woman Who Did makes a wonderful addition to Broadview's growing list of key fin de siècle texts. Placing Grant Allen's polemical short novel in the context both of his career as a public intellectual and of ongoing debates about sex, marriage, gender, and eugenics, the introduction and selected primary sources help explain the stakes behind the uproar that surrounded the novel's publication. The supplementary material on marriage debates of the 1880s and 1890s, as well as the selections from initial reviews of the novel, are particularly helpful in this regard. A splendid resource for those interested in the Victorian fin de siècle, and the nineteenth-century Woman Question." (Kathy Alexis Psomiades )

"This meticulously edited reprint of Grant Allen's notorious 1895 novel is an important and very welcome addition to Broadview Press's increasingly rich library of once-popular eighteenth- and nineteenth-century texts by women that have, for many years now, languished in archives accessible only to scholars. Nicholas Ruddick's thoughtful introduction and the appendices—which include contemporary reviews, source materials, excerpts from the Marriage Debate, 1888-1895, and key non-fiction prose writings by Grant Allen—will be invaluable resources." (Ann L. Ardis ) --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

From the Back Cover

The controversial subject matter of Grant Allen's novel, The Woman Who Did, made it a major bestseller in 1895. It tells the story of Herminia Barton, a university-educated New Woman who, because of her belief that marriage oppresses women, refuses to marry her lover even though she shares his bed and bears his child. Her ideals come into disastrous conflict with intensely patriarchal late Victorian England. Indeed, Allen intended his novel to shock readers into a serious exploration of some of the major issues in fin de siècle sexual politics, issues that he himself, in various periodical articles under the rubric of the "Woman Question," had played a leading role in opening up to public debate. This Broadview edition contains a critical introduction as well as a rich selection of appendices which include excerpts from Allen's writings on women, sex, and marriage; contemporary writings on the "Sex Problem"; documents pertaining to the Marriage Debate; contemporary responses to the novel; and excerpts from two parodies of the novel. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (June 29, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0192823124
• ISBN-13: 978-0192823120
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,317,121 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Story of futility, March 18, 2009

By 

jreader (Springfield, IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Woman Who Did (Dodo Press) (Paperback)

I did not like this book. The woman in the story endures self-imposed difficulties, with no final accomplishment. Very frustrating and annoying story. Only suggested for those highly interested in women's studies.

3 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Revelation!, December 18, 2005

By 

An Avid Reader (Sausalito, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Woman Who Did (Paperback)

Groundbreaking for its time. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in Women's studies. Yes, it is amazing that women used to live like this! I highly recommend this book.