May Sinclair’s ‘Life And Death of Harriett Frean’ tells the story of the titular character, Harriett, who has been raised as the embodiment of the perfect Victorian woman; loving, honourable, and obedient. She idolizes her parents and learns from childhood that love is equal to self-sacrifice but when she falls in love with her closest friend’s fiancé, she is forced to question everything she thought she thought she knew.
Described as a 'small, perfect gem of a book' by author Jonathan Coe, this historical romance novella was adapted into a BBC television show in 1986 and is a brilliant study of female ideals that stands alongside works by Virginia Woolf.
May Sinclair was the pen name of Mary Amelia St. Clair, born 1863. May was a popular British writer who wrote over 20 novels, short stories, and poetry. She was also an active suffragist, and a member of the Woman Writers' Suffrage League. Her activities for women’s voting rights were remembered by Sylvia Pankhurst, and May Sinclair once even dressed up as a rebel Jane Austen during a suffrage fundraising event.
