Story of a Modern Woman (Version 2)

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By Listen TheBook Posted on May 31, 2023

In Category - Literary Fiction, Published 1800 -1900

Authors: Ella Hepworth Dixon In Year : 1894

Book Language: English

Audiobook: Story of a Modern Woman (Version 2)

An End and a Beginning
A Child
Wonderings
A Young Girl
Alison
Mary's Lover
The Central London School of Art
A Kettledrum at Lady Jane's
Mary Tries to Live Her Life
New Hopes
In Grub Street
The Woman Waits
The Man Returns
The Apotheosis of Perry Jackson
Mary Goes Out on a Wet Day
A Comedy in Real Life
Two Ultimatums
Number Twenty-seven
Dunlop Strange Makes a Mistake
Alison Arranges a Match
The Gate of Silence
The World Wags On
In Which Civilization Triumphs
The Woman in the Glass

“The Story of a Modern Woman” (1894) is a work of feminist social realism. In its time it was one of the most famous and influential novels to grow out of and shape the “New Woman” movement of the 1890s. It won such attention for its author that Ella Hepworth Dixon was given the nickname “The New Woman.” The story of the novel’s protagonist, Mary Erle, loosely follows the outline of Dixon’s own situation. As the well-educated daughter of a public intellectual, she enters the world of professional writing after his death, partly trading on his name. Victorian society had been distinctly patriarchal, and women were expected to find their places under the protection of men, traditionally defining themselves as wives and mothers. However, by the 1890s, an alarming “surplus” of unmarried women in Britain meant that many had statistically little chance of becoming anyone’s wife or mother, and must create for themselves other paths to meaningful existence. This new reality demanded a more complex understanding of life, with storylines more nuanced than the old “find-a-husband” fiction of earlier decades. “The Story of a Modern Woman” was published first in serial form, then released in the UK and the USA in two editions with some differences in the selection and arrangement of material. This LibriVox recording is based on the American edition. - Summary by Bruce Pirie