With Her in Ourland

?[T]his is a significant book. A sequel to Gilman's feminist classic, Herland (1916), this continues yet radically changes that book's utopian vision....More sociological tract than novel, the book analyzes social, economic, and political problems, discussing overpopulation, gender roles, environmentalism, the care of children, and racism--issues that are surprisingly relevant today. The final pages of the book provide an unexpected twist that completes the reader's understanding of Gilman's overall purpose. Recommended for academic libraries.?-Library Journal ?Gilman's sequel to Herland continues to advance her social theories. However, With Her in Ourland (first published in 1916) is a dystopian work; it chronicles the experiences of characters Van and Ellador, following their departure from Herland as they travel the world during the Great War. As she does in much of her fiction, Gilman urges radical social reform as a way to save the world from chaos and destruction.... Deegan provides a cogent argument for reading Herland and With Her in Ourland as two halves of a greater whole.... Reommended for all public and academic collections.?-Choice ?He's a brash American adventurer; she's an independent, albeit sheltered, sociologist from Herland, a 2000-year-old, all-female society. Not surprisingly, when Vandyck (Van) and Ellador marry, most everything becomes a point of negotiation, if not contention: sexual relations, family obligations and attitudes about race, class, and the welfare state....the book is a window into the second decade of the 20th century...many of Gilman's observations are prescient and astute.?-Publishers Weekly "YThis is a significant book. A sequel to Gilman's feminist classic, Herland (1916), this continues yet radically changes that book's utopian vision....More sociological tract than novel, the book analyzes social, economic, and political problems, discussing overpopulation, gender roles, environmentalism, the care of children, and racism--issues that are surprisingly relevant today. The final pages of the book provide an unexpected twist that completes the reader's understanding of Gilman's overall purpose. Recommended for academic libraries."-Library Journal "[T]his is a significant book. A sequel to Gilman's feminist classic, Herland (1916), this continues yet radically changes that book's utopian vision....More sociological tract than novel, the book analyzes social, economic, and political problems, discussing overpopulation, gender roles, environmentalism, the care of children, and racism--issues that are surprisingly relevant today. The final pages of the book provide an unexpected twist that completes the reader's understanding of Gilman's overall purpose. Recommended for academic libraries."-Library Journal "He's a brash American adventurer; she's an independent, albeit sheltered, sociologist from Herland, a 2000-year-old, all-female society. Not surprisingly, when Vandyck (Van) and Ellador marry, most everything becomes a point of negotiation, if not contention: sexual relations, family obligations and attitudes about race, class, and the welfare state....the book is a window into the second decade of the 20th century...many of Gilman's observations are prescient and astute."-Publishers Weekly "Gilman's sequel to Herland continues to advance her social theories. However, With Her in Ourland (first published in 1916) is a dystopian work; it chronicles the experiences of characters Van and Ellador, following their departure from Herland as they travel the world during the Great War. As she does in much of her fiction, Gilman urges radical social reform as a way to save the world from chaos and destruction.... Deegan provides a cogent argument for reading Herland and With Her in Ourland as two halves of a greater whole.... Reommended for all public and academic collections."-Choice

CHARLOTTE PERKINS GILMAN (1860-1935) was an eminent feminist sociologist and novelist, perhaps best known professionally for Women in Economics (1898, repr. 1966) and, as a fiction writer, for her semiautobiographical novella, The Yellow Wallpaper (1892, repr. 1973). MARY JO DEEGAN is Professor of Sociology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Among her earlier publications are Jane Addams and the Men of the Chicago School, 1892-1918, Women in Sociology: A Bio-Bibliographical Sourcebook (Greenwood, 1991) and American Ritual Drama (Greenwood, 1989). MICHAEL R. HILL is an interdisciplinary social scientist from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Iowa Western Community College. He is author of Archival Strategies and Techniques (1993), editor of Harnet Martineau's How to Observe Morals and Manners (1989), and coeditor, with Mary Jo Deegan, of Women and Symbolic Interaction (1987).

Introduction: Gilman's Sociological Journey from Herland to Ourland With Her in Ourland: Sequel to Herland The Return War A Journey of Inspection Nearing Home My Country The Diagnosis In Our Homes More Diagnosis [Democracy and Economics] [Race and Religion] [Feminism and the Woman's Movement] [Conclusion]