Years Womens Letters Olga Kenyon

Years Womens Letters Olga Kenyon

An anthology of women’s letters, studying the tradition of female letter-writing from the 12th century to the present. One of the few “allowable” forms of written expression open to women until the 18th century – even Jane Austen at introductory pretended her drawing-room scribbling was letters rather than the novel she was actually working on – these private letters detail their daily lives, their sorrows and joys, little achievements, and the outstanding rites of passage of birth, death and marriage. Both agreeably diverting and informative, this study provides an clear or deep perception into past women’s lives and ought to be a worthful historical resource, in queer for historians and those mesmerized in women’s studies.

ReviewFew books offer such an historical panorama of women’s issues in such a little space. A remarkable voyage through time, cultures, and ways of being female.

ReviewOlga Kenyon has unearthed eight centuries of lost voices, without apparent effort proving her assertion that women’s letters are in truth “a outstanding art form.” Though readers will have heard of a good deal of of these correspondents–from Heloise (to Abelard, naturally) to Restoration playwright-spy Aphra Behn to Madame de Sévigné–most of us would be hard put to volunteer any solid information. Kenyon organizes these letters by theme, including friendship, childhood and education, war work, and political skills, and the juxtapositions are enlightening. “Housekeeping and Daily Life” features the Russian poetical Marina Tsvetaeva, who writes of being forced to leave her two-year-old tied to a chair while she searches Moscow for provisions; Queen Elizabeth I, who bemoans the bad shape Buckingham Palace is in; and Hannah Cullwick, a servant who anatomizes England’s sharp class divisions, circa 1864. Cullwick writes of toiling in the kitchen while the upper classes lord it upstairs: “But it’s always so with ladies and servants and of course there is a divergence cause their bringing up is so different–servants may feel it sharply and do now and then i believe, but it’s best not to be delicate, nor mind what work we do so as it’s honest.”

There is an apparent high seriousness to Kenyon’s enterprise–you won’t find, for example, any of Nancy Mitford’s sparkling missives. On the other hand, she does include a teasing letter from the great Victorian traveler Mary Kingsley, which begins: “My cannibal friends never eat humane heads unless for religious purposes.” — Books

About the AuthorOlga Kenyon was a lecturer and writer, specialising in Women’s Literature. She lives in London and is sadly now disabled.

Years Womens Letters Olga Kenyon Picture

Years Womens Letters Olga Kenyon Photo

Years Womens Letters Olga Kenyon Image

Years Womens Letters Olga Kenyon Pic

Most helpful client reviews

2 of 3 humans found the following review helpful.
A real clear or deep perception – magnificent read
By butterflyeffect67
A fantasti book on women. A real clear or deep perception to the topic of women’ s each and everyday life and problems. Excellent read.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful.
A damn good read
By Kali
Fascinating, well worth a look, particularly if you are mesmerized in a woman’s birds eye view of life, the universe and everything in the last 800 years. Samuel Pepys move over!

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