Description
Book SynopsisAlthough these women were encouraged by the democratic ideals implicit in such concepts, they were equally discouraged by lingering prejudices about their applicability to women.
Trade ReviewScholars interested in examining the contributions of 19th-century women writers to American literature will appreciate the fresh perspective offered here. Choice 2005 Radically expands the literary world of nineteenth-century American women, considering them in conversation with European women writers as well as male writers in Europe and America. -- Renee Bergland American Literature 2005 Boyd's close textual work gives the reader a valuable introduction to the work and lives of these four authors. -- Martha Saxton Journal of American History 2005 Boyd successfully reconstructs the era through an examination of the historical evidence, ranging from letters, diaries, reviews, essays, and literary social events, and close readings of the fiction of Alcott, Phelps, Stoddard, and Woolson to demonstrate that these pioneering artists took an active role in contemporary discussions on the nature of genius and art. -- Felicia L. Carr Legacy: Journal of American Women Writers 2005 A comprehensively researched and impressively detailed study. -- Annamaria Formichella Elsden Journal of the Midwest Modern Language Association 2005 A highly satisfying analysis of the contexts within which women's literary ambitions shifted and the sensibilities of the male literary elite were forcefully challenged. -- Mary Rigsby Tulsa Studies in Women's Literature 2005 Boyd offers a multi-layered thesis in this important book. -- Claire Brock Journal of American Studies 2006 Well written and appealingly produced, it is a thoughtful contribution to the field of late-nineteenth-century American literature and to the women, men, and above all institutions that produced it. -- Susan K. Harris American Literary Realism 2006
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments
Introduction: New Ambitions
1. Solving the ''old riddle of the Sphinx'': Discovering the Self as Artist
2. ''Prov[ing] Avis in the Wrong'': The Lives of Women Artists
3. ''The crown and the thorn of gifted life'': Imagining the Woman Artist
4. ''Recognition is the thing'': Seeking the Status of Artist
Conclusion: The Question of Immortality
Chronology
Notes
Bibliography Essay
Index
