Table of Contents

Introduction Gill Plain and Susan Sellers; Part I. Pioneers and Protofeminism: Introduction Gill Plain; 1. Medieval feminist criticism Carolyn Dinshaw; 2. Feminist criticism in the Renaissance and seventeenth century Helen Wilcox; 3. Mary Wollstonecraft and her legacy Susan Manly; 4. The feminist criticism of Virginia Woolf Jane Goldman; 5. Simone de Beauvoir and the demystification of woman Elizabeth Fallaize; Part II. Creating a Feminist Literary Criticism: Introduction Gill Plain and Susan Sellers; 6. Literary representations of women Mary Eagleton; 7. A history of women's writing Helen Carr; 8. Autobiography and personal criticism Linda Anderson; 9. Black feminist criticism Arlene Keizer; 10. Lesbian feminist criticism Caroline Gonda; 11. Men in feminism Calvin Thomas; Part III. Poststructuralism and Beyond: Introduction Gill Plain and Susan Sellers; 12. Feminist criticism and poststructuralism Claire Colebrook; 13. Feminist criticism and psychoanalysis Madelon Sprengnether; 14. French feminist criticism and writing the body Judith Still; 15. Postcolonial feminist criticism Chris Weedon; 16. Feminist criticism and queer theory Heather Love; 17. Feminist criticism and technologies of the body Stacy Gillis; Postscript: flaming feminism? Susan Gubar; Bibliography.

Promotional Information

This book offers a comprehensive guide to the history and development of feminist literary criticism and a lively reassessment of the main issues.

About the Author

Gill Plain is Professor of English at the University of St Andrews, Scotland. Susan Sellers is Professor of English at the University of St Andrews, Scotland.

Reviews

'Written with a consistently lucid and engaging tone, it accomplishes a dual goal in providing a compelling introduction for students of the discipline and putting forward a range of fresh intellectual insights.' Christine Lees, The Times Literary Supplement

'In fact, there could be no stronger testament to the continued relevance and importance of feminist literary criticism than this fresh and up-to-date examination of women's writing, gender and politics from the Middle Ages to the present.' Lisa Regan, Feminist Theory

'[The text] is designed to serve an introductory function, but goes beyond acquainting readers with the major strands and debates of feminist literary criticism. … Indeed, this work can serve as a reference and provide points for further debate to more advanced students and scholars.' Bonnie Kime Scott, Review of English Studies