American Women Regionalists: A Norton Anthology - Book Review

Of late, we were thinking, are there any books that chronicle the writings of women through centuries? We all know women writers, even today, are so underrated and overshadowed by their male counterparts. So what would it have been for women trying to raise their voices through literature back then?

Our extensive research got us a great number of books on the subject. One of the titles that caught our attention (that came close to what we were looking for) was American Women Regionalists: A Norton Anthology. We thought of giving it a read and….

What’s it about?

This book has a collection of sixty-four stories told by fourteen women writers. The irony of these stories and their writers is they were very popular when they released their works about centuries ago. Today, however, no one even remembers their names! This book aims to educate the current crop of readers to salute these women writers and their works and give them the honor they deserve.

The writers featuring in the book include Sarah Orne Jewett, Tennessean Mary Noailles Murfree, New Englanders Mary E. Wilkins Freeman, Alice Dunbar-Nelson, Sui Sin Far, among others.

Edited by Judith Fetterley and Marjorie Pryse, American Women Regionalists not only introduces us to the wonderful writings by writers from the past but also recreates the journey and tradition of women writers. They have included brief introductions, biographies and headnotes for each writer and their work to give detailed information about them to today’s readers.

Verdict

5/5 stars. We highly recommend American Women Regionalists: A Norton Anthology to both the young and old readers. It’s worth your time.

American Women Regionalists: A Norton Anthology Edited by Judith Fetterley and Marjorie Pryse