The Yellow Wallpaper

By (author) Perkins Gilman, Charlotte; Introduction by O'Farrell, Maggie
Short description/annotation:
First published in 1892, this perfect novel portrays with chilling power the powerlessness of women within Victorian marriage.
Description:

INTRODUCED BY MAGGIE O''FARRELL

''A great work of literature, the product of a questing, burning intellect'' MAGGIE O''FARRELL

''Even if the themes being explored might seem irrelevant . . . this is not the case'' GUARDIAN

''I loved the unnerving, sarcastic tone, the creepy ending'' PARIS REVIEW

Based on the author''s own experiences, The Yellow Wallpaper is the chilling tale of a woman driven to the brink of insanity by the ''rest cure'' prescribed after the birth of her child. While she is isolated in a crumbling mansion, in a room with bars on the windows, the tortuous pattern of the yellow wallpaper winds its way into the recesses of her mind.

Charlotte Perkins Gilman was America''s leading feminist intellectual of the early twentieth century and a brilliant writer, editor and speaker. The Yellow Wallpaper is her masterpiece.

Review quote:
Even if the themes being explored might seem irrelevant to you today and especially to such young audience, I can assure you that this is not the case
Review quote:
A great work of literature, the product of a questing, burning intellect
Review quote:
I loved it. I loved the unnerving, sarcastic tone, the creepy ending, the clarity of its critique of the popular nineteenth century
Biographical note:
Charlotte Anna Perkins (1860-1935) married at the age of twenty-four, but three years later separated from her husband. She was a writer of non-fiction and poetry, an editor, feminist theorist, and most of her work is about the status and oppression of women. She married again in 1900, but committed suicide a year after her husband died of inoperable cancer.
Promotional headline:
First published in 1892, this perfect novel portrays with chilling power the powerlessness of women within Victorian marriage.