Life and Death of Harriett Frean

May Sinclair

ISBN 10: 0812969952 / ISBN 13: 9780812969955

Published by Random House USA Inc, 2003

About this Item

Raised in a restrictive and oppressive household, Harriet Frean is used to sacrificing her own happiness and comfort for the sake of others, in fact, she's proud of it. Taught that women were to be submissive, pious, kind, and quiet, Harriet molds herself into the perfect Victorian woman. Though she struggles with the crushing expectations of Victorian gender roles, Harriet finds comfort in her close relationship with Prissy, her best friend. As the two grow older, they conform to their expected mold. With Prissy's support, Harriet continues her dedication to being the perfect woman, and is in pursuit of a husband. However, when Harriet finally falls in love, she is overcome by a crisis of conscious. Her entire perception of herself is shaken and her beliefs are challenged, because she has fallen for an unavailable man. Unsure how to process her feelings, Harriet begins to isolate herself in shame, because she cannot possibly tell anybody, not even Prissy, that she is in love with her best friend's fianc . Originally published under one-hundred years ago, May Sinclair's Life and Death of Harriet Frean explores questionable ideals still present in modern society. With topics of romance, gender roles, and identity, Life and Death of Harriet Frean is both timeless and a perfect record of the harmful ideals of English Victorian society. As a pioneer of the stream-of-consciousness literary style, Sinclar's prose is captivating and brilliant, allowing her characters to feel real and familiar to readers, creating a narrative that is undeniably compelling. This edition of Life and Death of Harriet Frean by May Sinclair now features an eye-catching new cover design and is printed in a font that is both modern and readable. With these accommodations, this edition of Life and Death of Harriet Frean creates an accessible and pleasant reading experience for modern audiences while restoring the original brilliance and insight of May Sinclair's work.

Seller Inventory # 00076127641

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Life and Death of Harriett Frean
• Publisher: Random House USA Inc
• Publication Date: 2003
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0812969952
• ISBN 13: 9780812969955
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: Fair

About this title

Synopsis

“In a few short pages,” writes Francine Prose in her Introduction, “May Sinclair succeeds in rendering the oppressive weight and strength of the chains of family love.” Young Harriett Frean is taught that “behaving beautifully” is paramount, and she becomes a self-sacrificing woman whose choices prove devastating to herself and to those who love her most. An early pioneer of
stream-of-consciousness writing, Sinclair employs the technique brilliantly in this finely crafted psychological novel. Evoking the style and depth of her contemporaries Virginia Woolf and D. H. Lawrence, Sinclair’s haunting narrative also reflects her keen interest in the theories of Jung and Freud. The text of this Modern Library 20th Century Rediscovery was set from the first American edition of 1922.

About the Author

May Sinclair (1863–1946), poet, translator, critic, fiction writer, woman’s suffrage advocate, and co-founder of a pioneering psychoanalytic clinic, was one of the most popular female British novelists of the early twentieth century. Her twenty-four novels include Mary Olivier: A Life and The Three Sisters.

Francine Prose’s most recent book is The Lives of the Muses: Nine Women & the Artists They Inspired. A contributing editor at Harper’s, she is the author of ten books of fiction, including Blue Angel, a 2000 National Book Award finalist.