The Oxford guide to British women writers

Summary: "The growing interest today in women's writing has led to a re-evaluation of British literary history, both emphasizing the vitality of well-known women writers and bringing to light numerous hitherto forgotten figures. Assuming no previous knowledge on the part of readers, The Oxford Guide to British Women Writers provides in a single volume an accessible and stimulating beginner's guide to the widest range of British women's writing, from the earliest times to the present." "Entries on some 400 writers from Aphra Behn to Jeanette Winterson, Mary Wollstonecraft to Barbara Cartland, offer a brief outline of each woman's life, her major publications, contemporary critical reception, and an assessment of her work. Suggestions for further reading are also given. The range of writers discussed includes novelists, poets, and playwrights, together with mystics, diarists, travel writers, scientists, and translators. The author has also carefully selected a number of non-British writers such as Sylvia Plath who have had an important influence on the British literary scene. In addition, the Guide features subject entries and provides an extensive general bibliography on women's writing." "Concise, informative, and well-organized, The Oxford Guide to British Women Writers will be an invaluable introduction for all readers and students of women's writing."--BOOK JACKET.