First published in 1897, The Beth Book - Being a Study from the
Life of Elizabeth Caldwell Maclure, a Woman of Genius, is a
semi-autobiographical novel offering a portrait of the artist as a
young woman. Grand's compelling story recounts in vivid detail the
childhood of her young heroine, Beth, a spirited and intelligent
girl who challenges the limitations of provincial life in Ireland
and Yorkshire. Without the benefit of an education, Beth must make
her own way through adolescence, contending with a violent mother
and an alcoholic father. With little money to go round, Beth often
goes without so that her brothers might be raised as gentlemen,
thus giving her an early introduction to sexual inequality. Even in
girlhood Beth challenges gender expectations, dressing as a boy and
poaching rabbits for the family dinner table. Like Grand herself,
Beth makes an early marriage to escape her unhappy childhood,
becoming the wife of philandering doctor, Daniel Maclure.
Disillusion soons turns to defiance, as Beth recreates herself as a
woman of genius, with her rousing refrain of "I shall succeed "
After escaping to a room of her own, Beth becomes a New Woman,
setting a high standard both for herself and for other women.
Grand's extraordinary recall of childhood emotions, avoiding
Victorian sentimentality, makes The Beth Book a convincing and
captivating chronicle of female adolescence. The coming of age and
sexual awakening of Beth broadens into a consideration of wider
social issues, such as marital violence, vivisection, and the
sexual double standard. The Beth Book deserves to become a classic
of the Victorian age. This new edition, the first for almost twenty
years, includes: * A critical introduction by Jenny Bourne Taylor *
Explanatory footnotes * Bibliography * Contemporary reviews * A
selection of other writings by and about Sarah Grand
General
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