What Impact did the First World War have upon Women Authors and the Publication of their Writing?
Michelle Fisher
Abstract
Women’s authorship during the First World War has been a topic of widespread academic debate and the overall consensus is that the war allowed women to contribute greatly to the output of literature during this time. As is shown by Margaret R. Higonnet, Claire Tylee and Dorothy Goldman, many women writers focused on themes of war and conflict during the Great War, and one might argue that the subject of war itself was a crucial factor contributing to the level of recognition they received. Jane Potter identifies a significant movement towards producing propagandist literature during the First World War and discusses how genres such the romantic novel “responded both to the public need for reassurance and the political agenda that was ‘the war effort’ ” (2005, p.6). The focus of this article is to determine how receptive the publishing industry was towards female authors during the First World War, explore the prevailing motives for publishers’ decisions to print their work, and assess the impact the War had upon the content of women’s writing.
Michelle Fisher
Abstract
Women’s authorship during the First World War has been a topic of widespread academic debate and the overall consensus is that the war allowed women to contribute greatly to the output of literature during this time. As is shown by Margaret R. Higonnet, Claire Tylee and Dorothy Goldman, many women writers focused on themes of war and conflict during the Great War, and one might argue that the subject of war itself was a crucial factor contributing to the level of recognition they received. Jane Potter identifies a significant movement towards producing propagandist literature during the First World War and discusses how genres such the romantic novel “responded both to the public need for reassurance and the political agenda that was ‘the war effort’ ” (2005, p.6). The focus of this article is to determine how receptive the publishing industry was towards female authors during the First World War, explore the prevailing motives for publishers’ decisions to print their work, and assess the impact the War had upon the content of women’s writing.