Women Authors : Web Resources

This essay discusses the rest cure, a popular treatment for nervous illness pioneered by Philadelphia neurologist Silas Weir Mitchell in the 1860s and ‘70s. Emphasis will be placed on the spread of the cure to Britain and the role of the rest cure in literature.

Charlotte Gilman wrote her famous short story in response to her own experience having her pain belittled and misunderstood by a male physician.

10 facts about one of America's most celebrated authors.

Although Louisa May Alcott is best known for her book, Little Women, describing her family life in Concord, Massachusetts, she had several homes in Boston where she was better able to earn money to support her family.

The Bronte Parsonage Museum library contains the world's most comprehensive collection of Bronte manuscripts, letters, early editions of the novels and poetry, and secondary material on the famous family and their work.

Wharton drew upon her insider's knowledge of the upper class New York "aristocracy" to realistically portray the lives and morals of the Gilded Age.

A podcast in which the story of Edith Wharton, the acclaimed American novelist who was born in New York City and raised in the Gilded Age social world that she would ultimately bring to life in her prose.

It was not until the rediscovery of the story in the early 1970’s that “The Yellow Wallpaper” was recognized as an early feminist indictment of Victorian patriarchy. This story contains many typical gothic trappings, but beneath the conventional façade lies a tale of repression and freedom told in intricate symbolism as seen through the eyes of a mad narrator.

Lauded writer Willa Cather spent her formative years in the city's east end neighborhoods.

A virtual exhibition exploring the importance of letters in Jane Austen's life and work. Through an array of objects from the collection at Jane Austen's house, we reveal how much an artfully written letter can tell us about her life and her fiction.

A list of the best adaptations of Jane Austen's works.

Privileged bohemians who dabbled in the arts-or creatives who made an important contribution to the development of modern culture? Explore the lives, lifestyle, and legacy of the Bloomsbury group using photographs, letters, and other material from Tate's archive.

Orchard House (1650) is most noted for being where Louisa May Alcott wrote and set Little Women in 1868. The prestigious home also has a rich history stretching back two centuries beforehand, as well as more than 100 years of life as a treasured historic site open to the public.

The National Women's Hall of Fame is an American institution created in 1969 by a group of men and women in Seneca Falls, New York.

The sisters turned domestic constraints into grist for brilliant books.

The Bronte sisters (Charlotte, Emily, and Anne) took the literary conventions of the Victorian period and radically reshaped them, creating novels which remain widely popular today, their explorations of the nature of love and vice that still resonate with modern audiences. Their remote home in Haworth gets thousands of visitors a year, and for good reason: the story of the Bronte sisters is a fascinating one.

Considered one of the most important British writers of the 20th century, Virginia Woolf was a pioneer in using stream of consciousness as a narrative device. Her words and characters often explore the human condition and reflect on the societal impact of the First World War in Britain. Born and raised in London, get an insight into what inspired the author with Google Street View.

The legacy of the iconic writer lives on at these four historic properties in England.

Explore the house, outbuildings, and garden with its 360 degree tour.

Although American novelist Willa Cather is generally associated with the state of Nebraska where she grew up, she lived in Pittsburgh from 1896-1906, during which time she worked as managing editor of the women's magazine, Home Monthly, and then as the drama critic for the Pittsburgh Leader; she also did a stint as a high school English teacher. This interactive walking tour will take you to six Pittsburgh neighborhoods where Cather lived and worked.

Today Willa Cather is one of the most important American novelists of the first half of the 20th century. Seen as a regional writer for decades after her passing in 1947, critics have increasingly identified Cather as a canonical American writer, the peer of authors like Hemingway, Faulkner, and Wharton.

In the late 18th and 19th centuries, writing as a profession was largely considered an activity unsuitable for women. Greg Buzwell explores the barriers and the lengths that women authors went to in order to publish their work.

A recording of a collection of 20 short stories and long-form poetry by American women writers.

A range of teaching resources that include "Austen's Emma: social realism and the novel"... "Austen's Pride and Prejudice: social judgement"..."Bronte's Jane Eyre: women in 19th century England"..."Shelley's Frankenstein: the ghost story challenge"...and "Bronte's Wuthering Heights: walking the landscape," and much more.

A repository for the study of resources related to Emily Dickinson.

The Victorian Women Writers Project (VWWP) began in 1995 at Indiana University and is primarily concerned with the exposure of lesser-known British women writers of the 19th century. The collection represents an array of genres-poetry, novels, children's books, political pamphlets, religious tracts, histories, and more. VWWP contains scores of authors, both prolific and rare.

Through the following activities, students can learn the expectations and limitations placed on Victorian women. Contemplating Brontë's position and desire for literary achievement in that context, students will compare Jane Eyre to other literary heroines and discuss her social class in relation to other characters.

The Victorian Era yielded great developments in terms of education, and this time period had distinct characteristics in regards to the educational system.