Women’s fiction, a British Library revival

Celebrating our major new exhibition ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ [View in browser]( The British Library Gifts and books for the curious and literary minded [What's on]( [Business]( [Research]( [Learning]( [Shop]( [Join]( As we look forward to the opening of our major exhibition Unfinished Business: The Fight for Women’s Rights, we’ve diving into the archives to rediscover lost gems from women writers and giving them a new lease of life. Part of a curated collection of forgotten works, the British Library Women Writers series highlights the best fiction from the 1910s to the 1960s. Each title has been hand-picked for the timeliness of its original publication date. And all explore different themes affecting early to mid 20th-century women – be that marriage, family, or work – and how the changing landscape of the times caused women to look at the traditional roles expected of them in a new light. Don’t forget, you can get three British Library Fiction titles for the price of two, including all the fabulous new titles below. [Explore the collection]( [Read Chatterton Square]( Chatterton Square by E H Young “‘You don’t mean you’re going to divorce him?’ Miss Spanner said with horror.” Published ten years after calls for a change in divorce law resulted in the Matrimonial Causes Act of 1937, Chatterton Square explores the complex web of relationships between two neighbouring families, the Blacketts and the Frasers. Only three marital options are open to them: unmarried, separated or miserably married. Despite new legal provision for women seeking divorce, at the time the mere suggestion of it remained shocking, providing Young with the central focus for her emotive novel. [Shop now]( [Read My Husband Simon]( My Husband Simon by Mollie Panter-Downes Temperamentally unsuited, Nevis Falconer and her husband Simon Quinn remain together until Nevis meets Marcus Chard and an inevitable question faces her. Wife or mistress? Nevis finds herself caught in circumstances over which she has no control. Emerging shortly after the controversy of D H Lawrence’s Lady Chatterley’s Lover, Panter-Downes’s book explores the increasingly self-conscious middle class and the ways in which the tensions and nuances of vocabulary, dress, occupation and politics contribute to the incompatibility of a marriage. [Shop now]( [Read The Tree of Heaven]( The Tree of Heaven by Mary Sinclair The Tree of Heaven follows the fortunes of the Harrison family as the children grow up in the shadow of World War One. While Dorothy’s brothers go off, one by one, to the trenches, she joins the suffrage movement, reflecting a time when women still didn’t have the right to vote. Sinclair – passionately in favour of women’s enfranchisement – asks not only if the vote should be won, but how. [Shop now]( [Read Dangerous Ages]( Dangerous Ages by Rose Macaulay Rose Macaulay takes a lively and perceptive look at three generations of women within the same family. Neville is celebrating her 43rd birthday and contemplating middle age. Her mother seeks answers to her melancholy in Freudianism. Her sister, Nan, a single and carefree writer living in London, experiences the loss of love and with it her plan for the future. And Neville’s principled daughter Gerda, who is determined not to follow her mother’s generation into marriage, finds herself at an impasse. Originally published in 1921, the novel explores the ‘dangers’ faced by women entering new stages in life. [Shop now]( [Read Father]( Father by Elizabeth von Arnim Since her mother’s death Jennifer has devoted years of her life to her father, managing the family home and acting as his secretary. After the sudden announcement that he has taken a new wife, Jennifer, at 33, seizes the opportunity to lead an independent life. Released in 1931, Father explores the concept of spinsterhood in a time when the financial and social status of single women were often dependent on male relatives. [Shop now]( Pre-order the next two titles In case that wasn’t enough, in October we will be publishing a further two titles to this series, available for pre-order now. [Tea Is So Intoxicating]( explores the scandal of an unmarried couple arriving in a rural Kent village. [O, the Brave Music]( is a coming of age novel set around the life of Ruan whose childhood is punctuated by tragedies, but held up by enduring friendships. [Pre-order now]( [Donate]( [Donate]( Visit the British Library Shop [British Library Shop Twitter]( [British Library Shop Instagram]( © 2020 British Library. 96 Euston Road, London. NW1 2DB. [View our privacy policy](. [Contact us]( • [View Online]( • [Unsubscribe](