'The forgotten feminist classic about a civilisation without men ... deeply, viscerally empowering.' - The GuardianIn 1915, Charlotte Perkins Gilman - a feminist, futurist, and activist - published Herland, a story about an all-women utopian society hidden in a jungle. They shared all labor and child care equally and reproduced without men. For generations, they lived peacefully, communally, and happily-until three men barged in, disrupting the order.Gilman's story was an allegory for her very real philosophy about what it would take for women to escape oppression: having full and equal opportunities to participate in all aspects of society, which meant turning all childcare and household work into a paid profession.About the authorCharlotte Perkins Gilman (1860-1935), also known as Charlotte Perkins Stetson, her first married name, was a prominent American humanist, novelist, writer of short stories, poetry and nonfiction, and a lecturer for social reform. She was a utopian feminist and served as a role model for future generations of feminists because of her unorthodox concepts and lifestyle. She has been inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame. Her best remembered works today are her semi-autobiographical short story The Yellow Wallpaper, which she wrote after a severe bout of postpartum psychosis; and Herland, the rediscovered feminist classic about a civilisation without men.Praise for Herland'The forgotten feminist classic about a civilisation without men ... deeply, viscerally empowering.' - The Guardian'A seriously funny book, related to the traditions of Utopian literature and set apart from that tradition by its extraordinary wit.' - The New York Times'Charlotte Perkins Gilman's vast writings on ideal societies were the catalyst for the feminist utopia Herland.' - The New Yorker
Industry Reviews
'The forgotten feminist classic about a civilisation without men ... deeply, viscerally empowering.' - The Guardian'A seriously funny book, related to the traditions of Utopian literature and set apart from that tradition by its extraordinary wit.' - The New York Times'Charlotte Perkins Gilman's vast writings on ideal societies were the catalyst for the feminist utopia Herland.' - The New Yorker'Gilman's modern reputation was further cemented when Herland, a satiric utopian fantasy of a perhaps over-complacent femocracy, was reissued.' - The Washington Post'Gilman not only presents a charming/rational vision, but she exposes the absurdities of sexism in a way that still stings after half a century.' - Alix Kates Shulman, Memoirs of an Ex-Prom Queen'Herland is pure delight. Those who know The Yellow Wallpaper but little else of Gilman's life will be thrilled. What a serendipitous discovery!' - Susan Brownmiller, Against Our Will'Herland has always been the most endearing of utopian fantasies. It has also been, like that exploration of equality between the sexes that it projected, unavailable to the general reader. It is a joy to have it now in print.' - Eve Merriam, The Inner City Mother Goose'Prolific, ambitious, and deeply earnest in her desire to make the world more just for women, Gilman's long career as a speaker and writer inspired countless women to work for change. Her status as one of the most important feminist thinkers of the Progressive Era is undeniable' - Feminist Collections
