Written by Herself

In this powerful new collection the author of two of the most celebrated memoirs in recent years presents the autobiographical writings of 14 of her English-speaking predecessors and contemporaries. The women who tell their stories in Written By Herself Vol. II represent three generations four continents and a range of experience that is equaled only by the diversity with which they transform life into literature.. Here are England's Vera Brittain commemorating the deaths of the men she loved in the carnage of World War I; Emma Mashinini who endured imprisonment and torture as a labor organizer in South Africa; Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit the daughter of Indian aristocracy who became an architect of her country's independence; and Edith Mirante the wisecracking American whose passion for justice took her to the opium trails of Burma. Collected in this stirring volume their voices demonstrate the ways in which women strive for power inclusion and autonomy-- and never fail to move inspire and instruct us. . Contributors include: Margery PerhamIsak DinesenShudha MazumdarVivian Gornick Vera Brittain Elspeth Huxley Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit Gloria Wade-Gayles Angelica Garnett Emma Mashinini Meena Alexander Edith Mirante Mary Benson and Ruth First.