French Women Writers : A Bio-Bibliographical Source Book

Greenwood Press, New York, first edition, 1991. Cloth, 8vo, 25 cm,. xxiii, 632 pp. This bio-bibliographical reference book provides an excellent introduction to the lives and works of some 51 of the most important women writers in the history of French literature. The writers selected include all the major names in the canon and several lesser-known figures with a substantial body of published work. Each writer is the subject of an essay of about 10 pages covering her life and work, with an emphasis on her experiences as a writer, a discussion of her major themes, and a brief survey of critical reactions. Each essay is followed by a short bibliography of primary works, a list of titles translated into English, and a selection of critical studies, with somewhat more extensive bibliographical information for the lesser-known authors. An additional essay describes the trobairitz, the women troubadours of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. The volume ends with a chronology which features the dates of events and trends of special significance to French women. The chronology also serves to place their writings in the context of important literary movements and alongside the productions of their usually better-known male contemporaries. Fine.