Women and the Autobiographical Impulse

Forming a critical introduction to the history of women's autobiography from the mid 18th-century to the present this book analyses the most important changes in women's autobiography exploring their motivation context style and the role of life experiences. <br/><br/>Caine effortlessly segues across three centuries of history: from the emergence of the 'modern autobiography' in the 18th-century which laid bare the scandalous lives of 'fallen women' to the literary and suffragist autobiographies of the 19th-century to the establishment of feminist publishers in the 20th century and the taboo-shattering autobiographies they produced. The result is a much-needed history one which provides a different way of thinking about the trajectory of genre information.<br/><br/>Caine's compelling study fills an important gap in the genre of autobiography by embracing a wide range of women and offering an extensive discussion of the autobiographies of women across the 19th and 20th centuries making it ideal for classroom use.