Norton Anthology of Literature by Women

The Norton Anthology of Literature by Women: The Traditions in English, published by W. W. Norton & Company, is one of the Norton Anthology series for use in English literary studies. It is edited by Sandra Gilbert and Susan Gubar. This volume is dedicated to exploring the history of English-speaking women's involvement in the literary world, the traditions of which women writers have been a part, and the experiences women share, with the second and third edition giving more emphasis to how those experiences are shaped by differing cultural, racial, religious, socioeconomical, and sexual backgrounds.[1] Norton released the third edition of the Norton Anthology of Literature by Women in February 2007, expanding the new edition into a two-volume set along with a companion reader. Additional material added sixty-one additional authors to the anthology, bringing the total to 219. The additional material expanded on the interest in current women's literature scholarship in the effects of diverse backgrounds on women's experiences.[2]

Included authors (third edition)

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Literature of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance

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Portrait of Mary Herbert née Sidney, by Nicholas Hilliard, c. 1590

Literature of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries

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Portrait of Aphra Behn by Sir Peter Lely

Literature of the nineteenth century

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Portrait of Mary Shelley but Richard Rothwell

Turn-of-the-century literature

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Kate Chopin

Early twentieth-century literature

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Zora Neale Hurston

Later twentieth-century literature

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Maya Angelou reciting her poem "On the Pulse of Morning" at President Bill Clinton's inauguration

Authors from previous editions

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The following authors have been included in previous editions, but are not included in the third.

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References

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  1. ^ Gilbert, Sandra M. and Susan Gubar. "Preface." The Norton Anthology of Literature by Women: The Traditions in English, 2nd ed. New York: W.W. Norton, 1996. xxix.
  2. ^ "Overview." W.W. Norton & Company: Norton Anthology of Literature by Women. 16 December 2006 <http://books.wwnorton.com/books/webad.aspx?id=11623>.