Sisters and Rivals in British Women’s Fiction, 1914–39 PDF
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Sisters and Rivals in British Women’s Fiction, 1914–39 This page intentionally left blank Sisters and Rivals in British Women’s Fiction, 1914–39 Diana Wallace First published in Great Britain 2000 by MACMILLAN PRESS LTD Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and London Companies and representatives throughout the world A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN 978-1-349-41630-1 ISBN 978-0-230-59880-5 (eBook) DOI 10.1057/9780230598805 First published in the United States of America 2000 by ST. MARTIN’S PRESS, LLC, Scholarly and Reference Division, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Wallace, Diana, 1964– Sisters and rivals in British women’s fiction, 1914–39 / Diana Wallace. p. cm. Based on the author’s thesis (Ph.D.). Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Triangles (Interpersonal relations) in literature. 2. English fiction—Women authors—History and criticism. 3. English fiction—20th century—History and criticism. 4. Women and literature—England—History—20th century. 5. Women in literature. 6. Love stories, English—History and criticism. I. Title. PR888.T76 W35 2000 823'.91209352042—dc21 00–023347 © Diana Wallace 2000 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2000 978-0-333-77400-7 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1P 0LP. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 09 08 07 06 05 04 03 02 01 00 For my sisters, Linda and Dawn This page intentionally left blank Contents Acknowledgements viii Abbreviations ix Introduction 1 1 `An Age of Transition': Historical Context 10 2 Theorising Female Rivalry 46 3 Rewriting the Victorians: May Sinclair's Transitional Modernism 75 4 The `Other Woman': Rebecca West's `Difference of View' 96 5 A `Shared Working Existence': Vera Brittain and Winifred Holtby 117 6 `My Second Self': Winifred Holtby and Vera Brittain 138 7 The `Recurring Dream' of Romance: Rosamond Lehmann 160 Conclusion 181 Appendix 1:Census Population of the United Kingdom 191 Appendix 2:Chronologyof Main Legislation Relating to Women, 1914±39 192 Notes 193 Bibliography 197 Index 209 vii Acknowledgements Marion Shaw was a generous and constructive supervisor of the thesis on which this book was based and I am enormously indebted to her for her support throughout. I would also particularly like to thank Gill Spraggs and Jeni Williams for reading and commenting helpfully on sections of the book, and the members of the Feminist Research Group at Lough- brough University for their responses to the work in progress. I am grateful to my colleagues at Glamorgan University for enabling me to have an invaluable period of study leave in which to finish the book. Finally, for their support and encouragement I would like to thank my parents, Anne and Nigel Wallace; and, most especially, Jarlath Costello. Diana Walla ce The author and publishers wish to thank Woman's Own for permission to reproduce the cover of Woman's Own (no. 67, vol. 3, January 1934) which appears as a frontispiece. The photograph of this cover is reproduced with the permission of the British Library (shelfmark: 691). viii Abbreviations Vera Brittain DT: The Dark Tide, London: Grant Richards, 1923 TY: Testament of Youth, London: Victor Gollancz, 1933 HE: Honourable Estate, London: Victor Gollancz, 1936 TF: Testament of Friendship, London: Virago, 1980 [1940] Winifred Holtby CS: The Crowded Street, London: Virago, 1981 [1924] SR: South Riding, Glasgow: Fontana, 1974 [1936] Rosamond Lehmann DS: DustyAnswer, Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1936 [1927] IW: Invitation to the Waltz, London: Virago, 1981 [1932] WS: The Weather in the Streets, London: Virago, 1981 [1936] EG: The Echoing Grove, London: Collins, 1953 May Sinclair TS: The Three Sisters, London: Virago, 1982 [1914] MO: MaryOlivier, London: Virago, 1980 [1919] HF: Life and Death of Harriett Frean, London: Virago, 1980 [1922] Rebecca West RS: The Return of the Soldier, London: Virago, 1980 [1918] J: The Judge, London: Virago, 1980 [1922] Note: Unless enclosed in square brackets all ellipses in quotations are as in the original text. ix
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