Description

An early novel in the First Wave of Feminism, with original proceeds donated to the suffragist movement, written by fourteen different, popular writers of the early Twentieth century. With a new introduction placing The Sturdy Oak as a foundational story of feminist literature this composite novel, written by fourteen popular authors, including nine women was drawn together during first wave feminism when the status of women in American life was brought into the spotlight. All proceeds of the book were donated to the Suffragist cause and the tale itself sought to reveal the tensions and expectations in Whitewater, a fictional district of New York. Jordan’s assembled team of writers sought to undermine the stereotypical sturdy oak (the traditional male) and with women (as the clinging vines), requiring his support. Flame Tree 451 presents a new series, The Foundations of Feminist Fiction. The early 1900s saw a quiet revolution in literature dominated by male adventure heroes. Both men and women moved beyond the norms of the male gaze to write from a different gender perspective, sometimes with female protagonists, but also expressing the universal freedom to write on any subject whatsoever. AUTHOR: Elizabeth Garver Jordan, active at the beginning of the Twentieth Century was an American journalist, author, editor, and suffragist. She was both a woman of her time, energetic, forceful and an excellent social networker, while building the foundations for equality and social justice by actions and her lifestyle. She edited the first two novels of Sinclair Lewis and was editor of Harper’s Bazaar from 1900 to 1913.