The 1970s witnessed a renaissance in women's print culture, as feminist presses and bookshops sprang up in the wake of the second-wave women's movement. At four decades' remove from that heady era, however, the landscape looks dramatically different, with only one press from the period still active in contemporary publishing: Virago. This engaging history explains how, from modest beginnings, Virago managed to weather epochal transformations in gender politics, literary culture, and the book publishing business. Drawing on original interviews with many of the press's principal figures, it gives a compelling account of Virago's place in recent women's history while also reflecting on the fraught relationship between activism and commerce.

The 1970s witnessed a renaissance in women's print culture, as feminist presses and bookshops sprang up in the wake of the second-wave women's movement. At four decades' remove from that heady era, however, the landscape looks dramatically different, with only one press from the period still active in contemporary publishing: Virago. This engaging history explains how, from modest beginnings, Virago managed to weather epochal transformations in gender politics, literary culture, and the book publishing business. Drawing on original interviews with many of the press's principal figures, it gives a compelling account of Virago's place in recent women's history while also reflecting on the fraught relationship between activism and commerce.

Outlines the key feminist debates on British women's fiction since the 'second wave' and grounds them in examples of women's writingThis book introduces you clearly and succinctly to the ways in which feminist ideas have transformed the form and content of British women's fiction and non-fiction writing. The Introduction sets out the critical background and the main feminist critical approaches to literature. This is followed by 5 chapters which outline feminist engagements with the canon, gender, the body, sexual difference and ethnicity to demonstrate the ways in which feminist ideas have affected the 'content' of women's literature. The next 5 chapters examine types of fiction writing: romance, crime, science fiction, life-writing and historical fiction, to show the effect of feminist ideas on the 'form' of women's literature.The text also provides a wide range of illuminating case studies which include: Virago Modern Classics, The Women Prize for Fiction, Charlotte Perkins Gilman's 'Herland', Angela Carter's 'The Passion of New Eve', Margaret Attwood's 'The Edible Woman', Lucy Ellmann's 'Sweet Desserts', Barbie dolls, French feminism and sexuality, trans identities, feminist publishing and ethnicity, black and minority ethnic women's writing, Zadie Smith's novels, Toni Morrison's 'Beloved', Eimear McBride's 'A Girl is a Half Formed Thing', Val McDermid and lesbian crime writing, Ruth Rendell and the invention of the 'whydunit', Margaret Atwood's 'Maddaddam' sci fi trilogy, Jeanette Winterson's 'Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit' and 'The Passion', Pat Barker's 'Regeneration' trilogy and Hilary Mantel's 'Wolf Hall' and 'Bring Up The Bodies'. Each chapter ends with a list of primary texts and recommended further reading.Key FeaturesProvides a clear overview of changing feminist debates and terms in the 20th and 21st centuriesShows the changing form of women's fiction and non-fiction during this periodAssesses the ways in which literary, political and mainstream cultures, as well as the book industry, have impacted on the work and ideas of female writersIncludes a wide range of case studies as well as recommended further reading and a list of primary texts with each chapter

Outlines the key feminist debates on British women's fiction since the 'second wave' and grounds them in examples of women's writingThis book introduces you clearly and succinctly to the ways in which feminist ideas have transformed the form and content of British women's fiction and non-fiction writing. The Introduction sets out the critical background and the main feminist critical approaches to literature. This is followed by 5 chapters which outline feminist engagements with the canon, gender, the body, sexual difference and ethnicity to demonstrate the ways in which feminist ideas have affected the 'content' of women's literature. The next 5 chapters examine types of fiction writing: romance, crime, science fiction, life-writing and historical fiction, to show the effect of feminist ideas on the 'form' of women's literature.The text also provides a wide range of illuminating case studies which include: Virago Modern Classics, The Women Prize for Fiction, Charlotte Perkins Gilman's 'Herland', Angela Carter's 'The Passion of New Eve', Margaret Attwood's 'The Edible Woman', Lucy Ellmann's 'Sweet Desserts', Barbie dolls, French feminism and sexuality, trans identities, feminist publishing and ethnicity, black and minority ethnic women's writing, Zadie Smith's novels, Toni Morrison's 'Beloved', Eimear McBride's 'A Girl is a Half Formed Thing', Val McDermid and lesbian crime writing, Ruth Rendell and the invention of the 'whydunit', Margaret Atwood's 'Maddaddam' sci fi trilogy, Jeanette Winterson's 'Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit' and 'The Passion', Pat Barker's 'Regeneration' trilogy and Hilary Mantel's 'Wolf Hall' and 'Bring Up The Bodies'. Each chapter ends with a list of primary texts and recommended further reading.Key FeaturesProvides a clear overview of changing feminist debates and terms in the 20th and 21st centuriesShows the changing form of women's fiction and non-fiction during this periodAssesses the ways in which literary, political and mainstream cultures, as well as the book industry, have impacted on the work and ideas of female writersIncludes a wide range of case studies as well as recommended further reading and a list of primary texts with each chapter