The women in these books show themselves to be individual, influential thinkers, whether their works and actions have local, national, or worldwide effects. Though the classical music canon may seem inevitable to us today, we might not have Bach, Debussy, and Ravel without the intervention of Winnaretta Singer and Sara Levy. Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche, Alice Munro, and Flannery O’Connor show us through fiction how many different worlds of experience exist, and how important both big and small moments are in deciding which direction a life can take. The story of Melita Norwood, who spied for Russia during the Cold War and wasn’t caught until she was 87, might not be one to emulate, but shows a fascinating resistance to the idea of women as necessarily sweet. The award-winning Widows in European Economy and Society, 1600 – 1920 turns our idea of penniless, retiring widows on its head by demonstrating that many were able to thrive in spite of – or because of? – their circumstances.
Taken together, these titles show how present and active women have been in influencing the course of human events, whether or not they were recognized in their own time. So whether you’re interested in reading about the story of Melita Norwood, who spied for Russia during the Cold War or the fictions of Alice Munro and Jane Austen, we are offering 35% off our Women’s Day titles. Use the code BB568 at checkout and check out our full list of Women’s Day titles here.
A Companion to Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
From the Dior catwalks, protest signs and Beyoncé’s ***Flawless, We Should All Be Feminists, the essay penned by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, has defined feminism for the 21st Century. Our Companion to the Nigerian author’s work, including the soon-to-be TV miniseries Americanah, is a celebration of her depictions of motherhood, the female body, gender roles and hair politics.
Margaret of Anjou
Queenship and Power in Late Medieval England
How did Margaret of Anjou, wife of the ineffective Henry VI and later a queen without a throne, become the most notorious of English medieval queens and help to start the War of the Roses? How did she earn the evil reputation Shakespeare gives her? In her life she achieved and maintained power in the convoluted and male-dominated world of fifteenth-century politics, something so remarkable that she is forever remembered and described as fierce, harsh, and unforgiving. This book examines not just how she gained influence, but how she exercised it and how she had to overcome the restrictions that affected all women of her time.
A Companion to Latin American Women Writers
This volume offers a critical study of a representative selection of Latin American women writers who have made major contributions to all literary genres and represent a wide range of literary perspectives and styles. Many of these women have attained the highest literary honours. The distinctiveness of the book lies in its attention to writers from widely differing historical and social contexts and to the diverse theoretical approaches adopted by the authors.
Willful Girls
Gender and Agency in Contemporary Anglo-American and German Fiction
What does it mean to “become woman” in today’s society? How have young girls and women been depicted and represented in Literature? Willful Girls explores works from female authors such as Helene Hegemann, Caitlin Moran, Charlotte Roche, Emma Jane Unsworth, Kate Zambreno, and Juli Zeh, who illustrate this complex transition into womanhood. Where concerns of body and beauty, sisterhood and identification, sex and desire, agency and volition, collide with failure, refusal, disgust and anger.
Joan, the Fair Maid of Kent
A Fourteenth-Century Princess and her World
This medieval princess lived no fairy tale life, for hers was marked by scandal and trauma from an early age. Nevertheless, she overcame all to marry Edward the Black Prince; their surviving son was crowned Richard II in 1377. Joan is important for many reasons, mostly because she became a powerful force at the heart of the royal court but also because her marriage for love rather than duty marked a shift away from dynastic responsibility.
Christabel Pankhurst
Fundamentalism and Feminism in Coalition
Few names are as synonymous with the fight for women’s suffrage as Pankhurst: both mother Emmeline and sister Sylvia were prominent in the struggle. Repeated arrests and jailings failed to deter Christabel from her cause, which she pursued with fierce energy. Her actions and those of her followers after the outbreak of the First World War – calling for the internment of foreigners and handing out white feathers – have tarnished her reputation but should not distract from the contribution she made towards political equality.
Sara Levy’s World
Gender, Judaism, and the Bach Tradition in Enlightenment Berlin
Would have the name ‘Bach’ lived on in classical music had it not been for this one woman? Sara Levy was one of the first people to take an interest in preserving the music of previous generations. While literary salons were all the rage in Enlightenment Berlin, this Jewish salonnière and skilled harpsichordist gathered people to discuss music, keeping Bach family tradition alive.
Q&A with Seth Peabody: Exploring German Film History