book- A Jury of Her Peers

A Jury of Her Peers, named after a famous short story by Susan Glaspell, is a history of the writing of American women from the beginning of the country to very recently.  It is well worth reading as a survey, but since it casts its net so wide, there is only superficial analysis of the many works covered.  An arc of history appears as women writers move from apologizing for their audacity to attempting to write like men to finding a voice that considers women's concerns to be as valid as men's concerns. Covering three hundred fifty years, author Elaine Showalter gives biographical information of each writer, summarizes the prominent works, gives an idea of the contemporary critical reception and some idea of their overall importance, and she covers a lot of women  She doesn't tell you everything you want to know, but she definitely introduces some writers you will want to know better.