Communities of Women: An Idea in Fiction

by Nina Auerbach

Novels by Jane Austen, Louisa May Alcott, Elizabeth Gaskell, and Henry James are among those considered in a study of changing visions of and attitudes toward women in fiction

Genres: Feminism, Literary Criticism, Nonfiction

224 pages, Hardcover

First published February 5, 1978

Reviews

[Victoria · Rating 2 out of 5]

A very shallow study that reaches few, if any, conclusions. Auerbach points out that communities of women can be seen in several American and British fictions of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, but she doesn't go so far as to try to explain the significance(s) of the similarities and differences she points out. A useful jumping-off point for future scholarship, but not a must-read by any stretch of the imagination.

[Clare Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of creative and insightful comparative readings in this book.