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A Woman of Genius
List Price:$19.95
FP Price:$15.96
  • Paperback Edition
  • ISBN: 978-0-935312-44-7
  • Publication Date: 07-01-1985
  • Page Count: 321
  • Categories: Fiction
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MARY AUSTIN was widely hailed in her time for her writing.

more about this author

A Woman of Genius

Mary Austin

Afterword by Nancy Porter

First published in 1912, this novel draws its inspiration directly from Austin's own life and experiences as a talented woman—in the novel, an actress—whose pursuit of a career places her in conflict with the values of a midwestern town. The hero's decision to leave a dull husband to pursue a career, and her rise to fame, are portrayed against the background of the cramping social order of the time.

"Mrs. Austin tells the story brilliantly with a rich, deep knowledge of human nature, and with an individuality in her way of looking at things that affords many a delightful surprise. Her imagination runs on swift, dramatic feet, and ennobles her style every now and then with a seeress-like touch, to which her large outlook upon life and her concern with its deepest meanings give sanction."

—The New York Times

“A Woman of Genius . . . says no to men and conventional marriage and yes to living and productive work. Far from simply promoting female self-determination, however, or celebrating the romantic right of genius to overrun all obstacles, including the human ones, the novel articulates the conflicts of a transitional generation of women who relinquished the perquisites of protected, genteel womanhood for the rewards and responsibilities of the pursuit of public achievement and service to the community. . . . A Woman of Genius is, like Austin herself, an overlooked classic of feminism. Olivia Lattimore occupies a pivotal position in the long procession of gifted women in literature.”

—From the afterword by Nancy Porter

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