"Them 'pre-feminism' feminists"
December 17, 2010
By Mary Schmidt, Marketing Troubleshooter
A friend recently surprised me with a gift. And, if there's anything better than getting an unexpected gift - it's getting an unexpected book! And, this isn't just any book, it's the recently released As Always, Julia. The Letters of Julia Child & Avis DeVoto. Food, Friendship and the Making of a Masterpiece. As regular readers know, I love Julia. ( I've got not one but two photos of her in my kitchen....and one of these days I'm going to attempt to make a retablo with "Saint Julia." But I digress.)
On the card (Oh boy, a card too!) my friend noted that she's "fascinated by them pre-feminism feminists." Me too. Diaries of pioneer women, bios of queens, essays by Victorian women travelers...and more, lots more - all reside on my shelves, for re-re-reading and ready reference.
I'm ever so slowly dipping into the book since I want it to last. Thank God they didn't have email back then or we'd likely not have any of these letters (or photos). These were strong, intelligent women who also knew how to have fun - and fun is often forgotten as women continue to fight for right (and rights.) Julia and Avis didn't do any marching; they simply kept going, and laughing (sometimes ruefully) along the way.
Eleanor of Aquitaine and the Four Kings, by Amy Kelly (Harvard Press, 1950). You want to talk tough times and a tough woman - that was Eleanor, wife of Henry the II, mother of Richard The Lionheart. (The Lion in Winter is also one of my favorite movies.)
The Warrior Queens, by Antonia Fraser. Britain's Queen Boadicea, Elizabeth I, Indira Gandhi, Margaret Thatcher...the paradox, the politics, the legend and the lives of the sovereign women who have led their nations in war. Not particularly light reading (I don't think these women had much "fun" at work), but excellent, imminently dippable reading, however, you do need to know some of the history.
Freya Stark, The Journey's Echo Selected Travel Writings. Lawrence Durrell called her "one of the most remarkable women of our age - a poet of travel whose Muse has been wholly Arabian in plumage." Her writings span nearly half a century. Ms. Stark wondered and wandered all over, way back when. Here are a couple of my favorite quotes:
"I dislike being the anvil for the hammering out of other people's virtues." (Hmmm, wonder what she'd think of Facebook rants?)
and, "I always wonder why it should be derogatory to behave like a women when one is one."
Indeed. And most of us weep far less than John Boehner. :)
(You can likely pick up all of these at your local library, or for very little in a used bookstore or on Amazon.)
Now, I think I"ll go re-re-re-read Freya while I finish my coffee. Happy Friday!
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