As a wave of open misogyny swept through French literature and society in the aftermath of the Great War, a new generation of professional women writers took up pen to redress the situation. They disputed the prescriptive social and cultural roles ascribed to women and proposed inspiring new definitions of womanhood. Many critics today are oblivious to women's literary achievements during this period, which remain subject to severe critical neglect. This book analyzes and challenges the way in which these important women writers have been marginalized in the annals of French literary history and offers fresh readings and reappraisals of their thematically and aesthetically innovative works.

As a wave of open misogyny swept through French literature and society in the aftermath of the Great War, a new generation of professional women writers took up pen to redress the situation. They disputed the prescriptive social and cultural roles ascribed to women and proposed inspiring new definitions of womanhood. Many critics today are oblivious to women's literary achievements during this period, which remain subject to severe critical neglect. This book analyzes and challenges the way in which these important women writers have been marginalized in the annals of French literary history and offers fresh readings and reappraisals of their thematically and aesthetically innovative works.