Seduction and Betrayal

Elizabeth Hardwick's essay collection "Seduction and Betrayal" is a radical portrait of women and literature, exploring the lives of the Brontës, Woolf, Eliot, and Plath, as well as the fate of literary wives and fictional heroines. With fierce empathy and biting wit, Hardwick mines their childhoods, families, and personalities to probe the costs of sex, love, and marriage.

\n Format: Paperback / softback
\n Length: 224 pages
\n Publication date: 04 July 2019
\n Publisher: Faber & Faber
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Elizabeth Hardwick's iconic essay collection, "Seduction and Betrayal," is a groundbreaking portrayal of women and literature, newly reissued with a compelling introduction by Deborah Levy. Hardwick's words linger in my mind, etched with profound impact. - Susan Sontag

In this remarkable work of criticism, Hardwick delves into the rich history of women and literature, exploring the lives of the Brontë sisters, Virginia Woolf, Emily Eliot, and Sylvia Plath; the trials and tribulations of literary wives like Zelda Fitzgerald and Jane Carlyle; and the fates of fictional heroines from Richardson's "Clarissa" to Ibsen's "Nora." With a fierce empathy and razor-sharp wit, Hardwick unearths their childhoods, families, and personalities, delving into the profound costs of sex, love, and marriage. By shattering the boundaries between writing and reality, she poses essential questions about seduction, betrayal, and victimization. Originally published in 1974, "Seduction and Betrayal" remains both urgently relevant and timeless, offering a seismic reckoning that challenges the conventions of the essay genre.

\n Weight: 194g\n
Dimension: 131 x 197 x 16 (mm)\n
ISBN-13: 9780571347001\n
Edition number: Main\n