Vagabond Fictions: Gender and Experiment in British Women's Writing, 1945-1970

Carole Sweeney's book explores the neglected work of five experimental women writers of the mid-twentieth century, highlighting their radicalism and creative experiments. She argues that these writers challenged aesthetic and thematic conventions and negotiated concepts of feminine writing, offering a fresh perspective on post-1945 British literature.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 304 pages
Publication date: 18 August 2022
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press

In this captivating and pertinent volume, Carole Sweeney serves as a poignant reminder of the neglect faced by five renowned experimental women writers of the mid-twentieth century. Through meticulous textual analysis of their most notable works, accompanied by concise biographical synopses, their unique personalities, artistic endeavors, and unwavering radicalism are unveiled for a new generation of readers to appreciate.

Gerri Kimber, Visiting Professor at the University of Northampton, delves into the realm of British women's experimental writing within historical contexts, spanning from 1945 to 1970. This groundbreaking study fills a significant gap in the history of twentieth-century women's writing, as Carole Sweeney explores the works of five experimental writers: Anna Kavan, Brigid Brophy, Christine Brooke-Rose, Eva Figes, and Ann Quin. These writers, argues Sweeney, engaged in diverse formal experiments that defy the prevailing notion that the mid-century British novel succumbed to a wholesale return to realism following the end of aesthetic modernism.

Rather than imposing a rigid binary between literary realism and experimentalism, this study employs original archival and biographical material to offer close readings of the creative and critical work of these vagabond writers. Through their defiance of aesthetic and thematic conventions of their time, Sweeney demonstrates how these women writers forged their own paths, navigating (and often challenging) concepts of feminine writing.

This volume serves as a valuable contribution to the field, shedding light on the overlooked contributions of these experimental women writers and providing a fresh perspective on the rich tapestry of post-1945 British literature. It is a testament to the enduring power of their words and the importance of re-examining the narratives that have shaped our understanding of literature.

Weight: 464g
Dimension: 157 x 234 x 21 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781474426183