A Jury of Her Peers: American Women Writers from Anne Bradstreet to Annie Proulx

by Elaine Showalter

Hardcover, 2009

Status

Checked out

Genres

Nonfiction

All Topics

Publication

Knopf (2009), Edition: First Edition, Hardcover, 608 pages

Description

In a narrative of immense scope and fascination--spanning nearly 400 years and brimming with Showalter's characteristic wit and incisive opinions--readers are introduced to more than 250 female writers, both famous and little known.

User reviews

LibraryThing member allthesedarnbooks

This is certainly an ambitious book. Showalter sets out to write a literary history of women writers in America (and by America, she means the US, not Canada, the Caribbean, or Central or South America, which, while perhaps not correct, is understable--- the book is already 500+ pages; I can't

imagine how long it would be if she were to expand to the rest of the Americas!). In the introduction, Showalter explains that in the very act of creating a literary "history" as opposed to a compilation of women's writings, (see The Norton Anthology of Literature by Women) she will be judging the writings and deeming what is important or historical. This is not simply a history; it is a book of literary criticism. I guess my main problem, as a lover of literature, is the judgmental tone Showalter uses for the literature by women that doesn't meet her high standards, and the people who read it. Sentimental, romantic, sappy women's fiction is not only put down, but so are those who might enjoy it. Ditto with literature that she does not consider "feminist" enough. Also, and I'm sure this is a problem with any book with such an ambitious attempt, she leaves out several, IMHO, very notable female authors; Dawn Powell is the biggest omission that comes to my mind, at this removed date (I finished the book about two months ago), but I'm pretty sure there were others.

As far as style goes, the book is broken down into chapters covering an era, then smaller, readable chunks focusing on a particular author or movement. There are no (or very few) excerpts of the works discussed, so if you haven't already read the books in question, you must rely entirely on Showalter's opinions. Sometimes she discusses an author's life, at other times she analyzes their works. This approach was a little too inconsistent for me. When I wanted biography, she gave me criticism; when I would've been interested in criticism, she gave me biography. Rarely did she provide both.

In the end, this book is a useful tool. Showalter obviously spent a great deal of time researching and putting it together. Is it a definitive history of American literature by women? No, but it's a good start. I added a lot of authors and books to my wishlist that I hadn't heard of before reading this. Recommended for scholars of literature and women's studies.

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LibraryThing member lmnop2652

Anyone looking for a reading list of women writers, this is it. Just thumbing through this book has me running to my bookshelves in search of works by these intelligent women. A key book on my reference shelves now.

LibraryThing member Lisahgolden

Got this from the library. Am currently picking it up occasionally flipping through it, reading a couple of pages and then going back to it later. It's a huge book and I won't finish it before it's due, but I'll learn some things about some authors from it.

LibraryThing member astrologerjenny

Great book! It’s fun both for reference, and as a straight read-through. I didn’t agree with Showalter’s opinions all the time – she’s tough on Gertrude Stein – but mostly she’s generous and respectful towards her subjects. I enjoyed this book too much to make lists, so I have to go

back and read it again.

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LibraryThing member astrologerjenny

back and read it again.

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LibraryThing member ritaer

A useful reference source on women writers in America

LibraryThing member melrailey

A Jury of Her Peers is a comprehensive look at the history of American women writers from the founding of America to the modern times. It examines women writers and gives a thorough study of each writer but Elaine Showalter never overdoes it. She seems to know that line between not enough

information and too much information. The book is basically a textbook but it makes very good reading. I love reading about the history of women and the marks that women have made on history. The stories of amazing things that other women have done over the years inspire me to do more with my life and make me feel that if they can do it, so can I.

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LibraryThing member japaul22

I've been working on this one for a while and it unfortunately wasn't as interesting as I hoped it would be. This is basically what the title describes - an overview of women writers in America. Showalter seems to attempt to give credit to women who've been shut out of the American canon by white,

male critics and scholars. I admire this attempt, but I wasn't really convinced. I thought I would come away with dozens of new books I just had to read, but that wasn't the case. There were a couple of authors (Gwendolyn Brooks, Shirley Jackson, Annie Proulx) who I know of but haven't gotten around to reading that moved up the TBR list a bit. But for most of the "unknowns" I just wasn't convinced that they sounded that great. I'm not sure if that is the book's fault or not. If you aren't very familiar with women authors this book might be interesting to skim, but otherwise I wouldn't rush out to read it.

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