Powerful argument, 29 Jun 2004
This book is a powerful argument that overthrows essentialist discourse in favour of gender as a performative entity. Whilst a seminal work, and in my opinion, a very important viewpoint capable of pushing the feminist movement on by lightyears, I feel that Butler's writing style does not suit the message she puts forward. For someone who's aim is to spread a message to the masses, she writes in an overly academic style. Although I appreciate that she may have needed to do this so that bodies under the influence of a partriachy may take her more seriously, it leaves this book only accesible to the highest academics. I am currently referencing this book in an argument put forward in my thesis for my masters degree and i am having great trouble understanding the language she uses. This is a brilliant book, but I can't help but feel that her language could be made a lot simpler.

Required Reading, 02 Dec 1998
This is a densely written but repeatedly rewarding study of the constructions of gender and sex as they relate to women, lesbians and gay men, and, to follow the logic of Butler's argument, all of us. This work shows not only the relativity of our cultural understanding of femininity but also the limits of our scientific understanding of female-ness. For feminists, Butler's book offers a much-needed examination of what exactly the female subject is and how woman is defined in (or by) our particular culture. Butler goes far beyond Foucault in examining sexuality as socially contructed and, in the process, offers valuable insights to (and critiques of) the writing and thinking of Beauvoir, Kristeva, Lacan, and Wittig. The book's one flaw is a turgid, sometimes redundant prose (i.e. phrases like "judical law" and "'he' [sic]") all too common in technical and philosophical writing, especially, alas, of the postmodernist variety. But once the reader survives the first quarter of the book, he [sic] will find Butler's observations not only accessible but fascinating and, for whatever it's worth, socially important.

Powerful argument, 29 Jun 2004
This book is a powerful argument that overthrows essentialist discourse in favour of gender as a performative entity. Whilst a seminal work, and in my opinion, a very important viewpoint capable of pushing the feminist movement on by lightyears, I feel that Butler's writing style does not suit the message she puts forward. For someone who's aim is to spread a message to the masses, she writes in an overly academic style. Although I appreciate that she may have needed to do this so that bodies under the influence of a partriachy may take her more seriously, it leaves this book only accesible to the highest academics. I am currently referencing this book in an argument put forward in my thesis for my masters degree and i am having great trouble understanding the language she uses. This is a brilliant book, but I can't help but feel that her language could be made a lot simpler.

Required Reading, 02 Dec 1998
This is a densely written but repeatedly rewarding study of the constructions of gender and sex as they relate to women, lesbians and gay men, and, to follow the logic of Butler's argument, all of us. This work shows not only the relativity of our cultural understanding of femininity but also the limits of our scientific understanding of female-ness. For feminists, Butler's book offers a much-needed examination of what exactly the female subject is and how woman is defined in (or by) our particular culture. Butler goes far beyond Foucault in examining sexuality as socially contructed and, in the process, offers valuable insights to (and critiques of) the writing and thinking of Beauvoir, Kristeva, Lacan, and Wittig. The book's one flaw is a turgid, sometimes redundant prose (i.e. phrases like "judical law" and "'he' [sic]") all too common in technical and philosophical writing, especially, alas, of the postmodernist variety. But once the reader survives the first quarter of the book, he [sic] will find Butler's observations not only accessible but fascinating and, for whatever it's worth, socially important.

Top Play, 19 Mar 2007
This offering from feminist playwright Caryl Churchill is an uncompromising critique of the capitalist mode of feminism as advocated by the model of the eighties power women, most obviously personified by Margaret Thatcher.

'Top Girls' deploys an interesting technique whereby characters narratives overlap leading to complicated scenarios wherein meaning is lost in the melee of competing voices. It certainly makes for difficult listening or reading but acts uniquely as a physical representation of the interupted and disjointed histories of the women whose situation it aims to ameliorate.

The play is split into three main sections. The first act witnesses the meeting of various fictional and non-fictional characters from history, literature and art at a dinner party. The party has been organised to celebrate the recent career success of central character Marlene. Marlene works for an agency designed to find jobs for women.

The first section reflects the women's various instances of "success" whilst exposing the commonality of their suffering both at the hands of men and indeed at their hands of their own complicity with the phallocentric societies in which they found themselves.

The next two acts are situated in the present, within a year of each other, and focus on Marlene's character. This present experience acts as an interesting counterpoint to the dinner-time narratives. It becomes abundantly clear that Marlene too, though ostensibly successful, comes with her own baggage and we are asked to quesiton how far indeed women have come, if at all.

'Top Girls' should not be mistaken for a cynical and negative play: far from it. It's message is that there is hope but only through a socialist ethic of togetherness where the intended output is the common good rather than the elevated succes of the individual. This idea is neatly illustrated by Isabella's illness where she reveals that her head could not be supported by the diseased spine. That is to say, without the foundations of a strong society the most talented and superficially gifted individual cannot truly thrive.

I would recommend it on many levels. On the most basic level it is full of dark humour and the chaotic, drunken opening act is compelling both visually and due to the uinique use of overlapping narratives. Gret will make you smile almost everytime she releases one of her limited utterances while Angie's 'momentary' cannibalism is shocking to the extreme.

However, when revisited you will be able to further plumb its hidden depths and observe admiringly how Churchill subtly weaves her earnest polemic into the fabric of the novel.


Stunning, 07 Jun 2001
This play is amazing! The techniques Churchill uses to keep your interest are interesting in themselves. A fantastic plot that keeps you engrossed. A brilliant play that combines the issues of class and gender in an unusual way. A joy to study, going to see this play is is a must.

Shocking, humourous, serious - all at the same time., 09 Dec 2000
Top Girls is one of a number of plays written by the brilliant Caryl Churhill. First performed in the Royal Court Theatre, 1982, the play proved a raging success, also entertaining the Americans when Performed in Joseph Papps Public Theatre New York. Top Girls is a play not neccessarily concerned with providing answers but asking questions, mainly about the rather archaic and unfair patriarchal society in which all of the women in this play are living in, or indeed, have lived in. It also deals with certain issues about women and the world of work, and more specifically, the prices that are attatched to personal success and acheivment. Top Girls is a play which delivers the fundamental elements which theatre is based upon, and goes a lot further and deeper than this. It has educational values and an extremely serious aspect to it, but at the same time can be intriguigly entertaining and addictive, so much so that one may feel that they are emotionally dragged into one of the many, sometimes tense, sometimes funny, sometimes shocking conversations between the brilliantly constucted characters.

However, there is an underlying seriousness to the play which Churchill manages to mix well with the half hearted humour evident throughout the play. Her idea of bringing different flavours of women, from past and present, and placing them around a table as she does in act one, is ambitious to say the least. It does, however, work well, with each character highlighting the changing ideas and themes towards women and oppression. Overall Top Girls is a Top read. Characters are constructed well, and the plot has a somewhat eye opening twist. Would suit anyone in the adult bracket (contains explicit language), who have an interest in the role of women in society, throughout history.

Powerful argument, 29 Jun 2004
This book is a powerful argument that overthrows essentialist discourse in favour of gender as a performative entity. Whilst a seminal work, and in my opinion, a very important viewpoint capable of pushing the feminist movement on by lightyears, I feel that Butler's writing style does not suit the message she puts forward. For someone who's aim is to spread a message to the masses, she writes in an overly academic style. Although I appreciate that she may have needed to do this so that bodies under the influence of a partriachy may take her more seriously, it leaves this book only accesible to the highest academics. I am currently referencing this book in an argument put forward in my thesis for my masters degree and i am having great trouble understanding the language she uses. This is a brilliant book, but I can't help but feel that her language could be made a lot simpler.

Required Reading, 02 Dec 1998
This is a densely written but repeatedly rewarding study of the constructions of gender and sex as they relate to women, lesbians and gay men, and, to follow the logic of Butler's argument, all of us. This work shows not only the relativity of our cultural understanding of femininity but also the limits of our scientific understanding of female-ness. For feminists, Butler's book offers a much-needed examination of what exactly the female subject is and how woman is defined in (or by) our particular culture. Butler goes far beyond Foucault in examining sexuality as socially contructed and, in the process, offers valuable insights to (and critiques of) the writing and thinking of Beauvoir, Kristeva, Lacan, and Wittig. The book's one flaw is a turgid, sometimes redundant prose (i.e. phrases like "judical law" and "'he' [sic]") all too common in technical and philosophical writing, especially, alas, of the postmodernist variety. But once the reader survives the first quarter of the book, he [sic] will find Butler's observations not only accessible but fascinating and, for whatever it's worth, socially important.

Top Play, 19 Mar 2007
This offering from feminist playwright Caryl Churchill is an uncompromising critique of the capitalist mode of feminism as advocated by the model of the eighties power women, most obviously personified by Margaret Thatcher.

'Top Girls' deploys an interesting technique whereby characters narratives overlap leading to complicated scenarios wherein meaning is lost in the melee of competing voices. It certainly makes for difficult listening or reading but acts uniquely as a physical representation of the interupted and disjointed histories of the women whose situation it aims to ameliorate.

The play is split into three main sections. The first act witnesses the meeting of various fictional and non-fictional characters from history, literature and art at a dinner party. The party has been organised to celebrate the recent career success of central character Marlene. Marlene works for an agency designed to find jobs for women.

The first section reflects the women's various instances of "success" whilst exposing the commonality of their suffering both at the hands of men and indeed at their hands of their own complicity with the phallocentric societies in which they found themselves.

The next two acts are situated in the present, within a year of each other, and focus on Marlene's character. This present experience acts as an interesting counterpoint to the dinner-time narratives. It becomes abundantly clear that Marlene too, though ostensibly successful, comes with her own baggage and we are asked to quesiton how far indeed women have come, if at all.

'Top Girls' should not be mistaken for a cynical and negative play: far from it. It's message is that there is hope but only through a socialist ethic of togetherness where the intended output is the common good rather than the elevated succes of the individual. This idea is neatly illustrated by Isabella's illness where she reveals that her head could not be supported by the diseased spine. That is to say, without the foundations of a strong society the most talented and superficially gifted individual cannot truly thrive.

I would recommend it on many levels. On the most basic level it is full of dark humour and the chaotic, drunken opening act is compelling both visually and due to the uinique use of overlapping narratives. Gret will make you smile almost everytime she releases one of her limited utterances while Angie's 'momentary' cannibalism is shocking to the extreme.

However, when revisited you will be able to further plumb its hidden depths and observe admiringly how Churchill subtly weaves her earnest polemic into the fabric of the novel.


Stunning, 07 Jun 2001
This play is amazing! The techniques Churchill uses to keep your interest are interesting in themselves. A fantastic plot that keeps you engrossed. A brilliant play that combines the issues of class and gender in an unusual way. A joy to study, going to see this play is is a must.

Shocking, humourous, serious - all at the same time., 09 Dec 2000
Top Girls is one of a number of plays written by the brilliant Caryl Churhill. First performed in the Royal Court Theatre, 1982, the play proved a raging success, also entertaining the Americans when Performed in Joseph Papps Public Theatre New York. Top Girls is a play not neccessarily concerned with providing answers but asking questions, mainly about the rather archaic and unfair patriarchal society in which all of the women in this play are living in, or indeed, have lived in. It also deals with certain issues about women and the world of work, and more specifically, the prices that are attatched to personal success and acheivment. Top Girls is a play which delivers the fundamental elements which theatre is based upon, and goes a lot further and deeper than this. It has educational values and an extremely serious aspect to it, but at the same time can be intriguigly entertaining and addictive, so much so that one may feel that they are emotionally dragged into one of the many, sometimes tense, sometimes funny, sometimes shocking conversations between the brilliantly constucted characters.

However, there is an underlying seriousness to the play which Churchill manages to mix well with the half hearted humour evident throughout the play. Her idea of bringing different flavours of women, from past and present, and placing them around a table as she does in act one, is ambitious to say the least. It does, however, work well, with each character highlighting the changing ideas and themes towards women and oppression. Overall Top Girls is a Top read. Characters are constructed well, and the plot has a somewhat eye opening twist. Would suit anyone in the adult bracket (contains explicit language), who have an interest in the role of women in society, throughout history.

Dated in Places but still required reading, 20 Nov 2007
This book by Gilbert and Gubar was groundbreaking literary criticism when it was first published, and paved the way for an explosion in feminist literary criticism that allowed much existing work to be re-evaluated and enriched by what women had to say
I recently re-read this work, and have to say that some of it is now dated, and the enormous preface to the recent edition does not really add anything to the main body of text, although it does go some way to setting the scene for the research. It seems dated because what Gilbert and Gubar once fought for is now taken for granted by so many, which just shows the success of their achievements.
The majority of the work on the 19th Century novels themselves, particularly the work of Charlotte Bronte is invaluable and always enriching and interesting. Nobody should be able to read these novels without reading these essays because they just make so much sense. The central tenet about the writer and their ability to express the unexpressible aspects of themselves through their literary creations and in particular the character of Bertha Mason from Jane Eyre, is still breathtaking and brilliant. A must read for any serious students of nineteenth century literature.

Feminist lit-crit of the highest order, 26 May 2001
This is the sort of criticism that expands your impression of literature. The authors cast a fresh light on classic women's writing - Austen, the Brontes, etc - by examining how a woman writer's self-perception is shaped by patriarchy and a mysoginistic tradition, and that the anxiety caused by being 'unfeminine' can be found within the writing. It's also well written enough to be read for fun.

A great insight into Victorian feminism, 03 Oct 1999
A must for anyone interested in the feminist aspects of Victorian writing. Gilbert and Gubar explore the writings of canonical Victorian women such as Austen, Eliot and the Bronte sisters with an insight sure to fascinate the academic or just the interested everyday reader.

Powerful argument, 29 Jun 2004
This book is a powerful argument that overthrows essentialist discourse in favour of gender as a performative entity. Whilst a seminal work, and in my opinion, a very important viewpoint capable of pushing the feminist movement on by lightyears, I feel that Butler's writing style does not suit the message she puts forward. For someone who's aim is to spread a message to the masses, she writes in an overly academic style. Although I appreciate that she may have needed to do this so that bodies under the influence of a partriachy may take her more seriously, it leaves this book only accesible to the highest academics. I am currently referencing this book in an argument put forward in my thesis for my masters degree and i am having great trouble understanding the language she uses. This is a brilliant book, but I can't help but feel that her language could be made a lot simpler.

Required Reading, 02 Dec 1998
This is a densely written but repeatedly rewarding study of the constructions of gender and sex as they relate to women, lesbians and gay men, and, to follow the logic of Butler's argument, all of us. This work shows not only the relativity of our cultural understanding of femininity but also the limits of our scientific understanding of female-ness. For feminists, Butler's book offers a much-needed examination of what exactly the female subject is and how woman is defined in (or by) our particular culture. Butler goes far beyond Foucault in examining sexuality as socially contructed and, in the process, offers valuable insights to (and critiques of) the writing and thinking of Beauvoir, Kristeva, Lacan, and Wittig. The book's one flaw is a turgid, sometimes redundant prose (i.e. phrases like "judical law" and "'he' [sic]") all too common in technical and philosophical writing, especially, alas, of the postmodernist variety. But once the reader survives the first quarter of the book, he [sic] will find Butler's observations not only accessible but fascinating and, for whatever it's worth, socially important.

Top Play, 19 Mar 2007
This offering from feminist playwright Caryl Churchill is an uncompromising critique of the capitalist mode of feminism as advocated by the model of the eighties power women, most obviously personified by Margaret Thatcher.

'Top Girls' deploys an interesting technique whereby characters narratives overlap leading to complicated scenarios wherein meaning is lost in the melee of competing voices. It certainly makes for difficult listening or reading but acts uniquely as a physical representation of the interupted and disjointed histories of the women whose situation it aims to ameliorate.

The play is split into three main sections. The first act witnesses the meeting of various fictional and non-fictional characters from history, literature and art at a dinner party. The party has been organised to celebrate the recent career success of central character Marlene. Marlene works for an agency designed to find jobs for women.

The first section reflects the women's various instances of "success" whilst exposing the commonality of their suffering both at the hands of men and indeed at their hands of their own complicity with the phallocentric societies in which they found themselves.

The next two acts are situated in the present, within a year of each other, and focus on Marlene's character. This present experience acts as an interesting counterpoint to the dinner-time narratives. It becomes abundantly clear that Marlene too, though ostensibly successful, comes with her own baggage and we are asked to quesiton how far indeed women have come, if at all.

'Top Girls' should not be mistaken for a cynical and negative play: far from it. It's message is that there is hope but only through a socialist ethic of togetherness where the intended output is the common good rather than the elevated succes of the individual. This idea is neatly illustrated by Isabella's illness where she reveals that her head could not be supported by the diseased spine. That is to say, without the foundations of a strong society the most talented and superficially gifted individual cannot truly thrive.

I would recommend it on many levels. On the most basic level it is full of dark humour and the chaotic, drunken opening act is compelling both visually and due to the uinique use of overlapping narratives. Gret will make you smile almost everytime she releases one of her limited utterances while Angie's 'momentary' cannibalism is shocking to the extreme.

However, when revisited you will be able to further plumb its hidden depths and observe admiringly how Churchill subtly weaves her earnest polemic into the fabric of the novel.


Stunning, 07 Jun 2001
This play is amazing! The techniques Churchill uses to keep your interest are interesting in themselves. A fantastic plot that keeps you engrossed. A brilliant play that combines the issues of class and gender in an unusual way. A joy to study, going to see this play is is a must.

Shocking, humourous, serious - all at the same time., 09 Dec 2000
Top Girls is one of a number of plays written by the brilliant Caryl Churhill. First performed in the Royal Court Theatre, 1982, the play proved a raging success, also entertaining the Americans when Performed in Joseph Papps Public Theatre New York. Top Girls is a play not neccessarily concerned with providing answers but asking questions, mainly about the rather archaic and unfair patriarchal society in which all of the women in this play are living in, or indeed, have lived in. It also deals with certain issues about women and the world of work, and more specifically, the prices that are attatched to personal success and acheivment. Top Girls is a play which delivers the fundamental elements which theatre is based upon, and goes a lot further and deeper than this. It has educational values and an extremely serious aspect to it, but at the same time can be intriguigly entertaining and addictive, so much so that one may feel that they are emotionally dragged into one of the many, sometimes tense, sometimes funny, sometimes shocking conversations between the brilliantly constucted characters.

However, there is an underlying seriousness to the play which Churchill manages to mix well with the half hearted humour evident throughout the play. Her idea of bringing different flavours of women, from past and present, and placing them around a table as she does in act one, is ambitious to say the least. It does, however, work well, with each character highlighting the changing ideas and themes towards women and oppression. Overall Top Girls is a Top read. Characters are constructed well, and the plot has a somewhat eye opening twist. Would suit anyone in the adult bracket (contains explicit language), who have an interest in the role of women in society, throughout history.

Dated in Places but still required reading, 20 Nov 2007
This book by Gilbert and Gubar was groundbreaking literary criticism when it was first published, and paved the way for an explosion in feminist literary criticism that allowed much existing work to be re-evaluated and enriched by what women had to say
I recently re-read this work, and have to say that some of it is now dated, and the enormous preface to the recent edition does not really add anything to the main body of text, although it does go some way to setting the scene for the research. It seems dated because what Gilbert and Gubar once fought for is now taken for granted by so many, which just shows the success of their achievements.
The majority of the work on the 19th Century novels themselves, particularly the work of Charlotte Bronte is invaluable and always enriching and interesting. Nobody should be able to read these novels without reading these essays because they just make so much sense. The central tenet about the writer and their ability to express the unexpressible aspects of themselves through their literary creations and in particular the character of Bertha Mason from Jane Eyre, is still breathtaking and brilliant. A must read for any serious students of nineteenth century literature.

Feminist lit-crit of the highest order, 26 May 2001
This is the sort of criticism that expands your impression of literature. The authors cast a fresh light on classic women's writing - Austen, the Brontes, etc - by examining how a woman writer's self-perception is shaped by patriarchy and a mysoginistic tradition, and that the anxiety caused by being 'unfeminine' can be found within the writing. It's also well written enough to be read for fun.

A great insight into Victorian feminism, 03 Oct 1999
A must for anyone interested in the feminist aspects of Victorian writing. Gilbert and Gubar explore the writings of canonical Victorian women such as Austen, Eliot and the Bronte sisters with an insight sure to fascinate the academic or just the interested everyday reader.

The Life of Charlotte Bronte (Penguin Classics), 05 May 2003
As per the other reviews on here, this book is an essential read if you want to know the full life and times of the Bronte's.

However, one thing i will say, i found it annoying that some of the names of people mentioned in the book had their names blanked out to protect them as they might still be living, which after this amount of time is very doubtful.

And totally my ignorance is that I don’t speak French, so it meant skipping a few pages every now and then as some of the letters Charlotte had written were in French.

The pace of the book is a little uneven but this may be down to the events, still Definatly a good read.

A must for bronte fans everywhere, 18 Aug 2001
I have a confession to make - I am a bronte obsessive and I am comforted by the fact that I am not alone. For anyone remotely interested in the brontes, this book is essential. Yes, admittedly since its publication there have been an avalanche of biographies etc and few can match Juliet Barker's " The Brontes ", but Gaskell's now somewhat quaint account is one of the first and most tender presentations of a dear friend and there in lies its value.

Powerful argument, 29 Jun 2004
This book is a powerful argument that overthrows essentialist discourse in favour of gender as a performative entity. Whilst a seminal work, and in my opinion, a very important viewpoint capable of pushing the feminist movement on by lightyears, I feel that Butler's writing style does not suit the message she puts forward. For someone who's aim is to spread a message to the masses, she writes in an overly academic style. Although I appreciate that she may have needed to do this so that bodies under the influence of a partriachy may take her more seriously, it leaves this book only accesible to the highest academics. I am currently referencing this book in an argument put forward in my thesis for my masters degree and i am having great trouble understanding the language she uses. This is a brilliant book, but I can't help but feel that her language could be made a lot simpler.

Required Reading, 02 Dec 1998
This is a densely written but repeatedly rewarding study of the constructions of gender and sex as they relate to women, lesbians and gay men, and, to follow the logic of Butler's argument, all of us. This work shows not only the relativity of our cultural understanding of femininity but also the limits of our scientific understanding of female-ness. For feminists, Butler's book offers a much-needed examination of what exactly the female subject is and how woman is defined in (or by) our particular culture. Butler goes far beyond Foucault in examining sexuality as socially contructed and, in the process, offers valuable insights to (and critiques of) the writing and thinking of Beauvoir, Kristeva, Lacan, and Wittig. The book's one flaw is a turgid, sometimes redundant prose (i.e. phrases like "judical law" and "'he' [sic]") all too common in technical and philosophical writing, especially, alas, of the postmodernist variety. But once the reader survives the first quarter of the book, he [sic] will find Butler's observations not only accessible but fascinating and, for whatever it's worth, socially important.

Top Play, 19 Mar 2007
This offering from feminist playwright Caryl Churchill is an uncompromising critique of the capitalist mode of feminism as advocated by the model of the eighties power women, most obviously personified by Margaret Thatcher.

'Top Girls' deploys an interesting technique whereby characters narratives overlap leading to complicated scenarios wherein meaning is lost in the melee of competing voices. It certainly makes for difficult listening or reading but acts uniquely as a physical representation of the interupted and disjointed histories of the women whose situation it aims to ameliorate.

The play is split into three main sections. The first act witnesses the meeting of various fictional and non-fictional characters from history, literature and art at a dinner party. The party has been organised to celebrate the recent career success of central character Marlene. Marlene works for an agency designed to find jobs for women.

The first section reflects the women's various instances of "success" whilst exposing the commonality of their suffering both at the hands of men and indeed at their hands of their own complicity with the phallocentric societies in which they found themselves.

The next two acts are situated in the present, within a year of each other, and focus on Marlene's character. This present experience acts as an interesting counterpoint to the dinner-time narratives. It becomes abundantly clear that Marlene too, though ostensibly successful, comes with her own baggage and we are asked to quesiton how far indeed women have come, if at all.

'Top Girls' should not be mistaken for a cynical and negative play: far from it. It's message is that there is hope but only through a socialist ethic of togetherness where the intended output is the common good rather than the elevated succes of the individual. This idea is neatly illustrated by Isabella's illness where she reveals that her head could not be supported by the diseased spine. That is to say, without the foundations of a strong society the most talented and superficially gifted individual cannot truly thrive.

I would recommend it on many levels. On the most basic level it is full of dark humour and the chaotic, drunken opening act is compelling both visually and due to the uinique use of overlapping narratives. Gret will make you smile almost everytime she releases one of her limited utterances while Angie's 'momentary' cannibalism is shocking to the extreme.

However, when revisited you will be able to further plumb its hidden depths and observe admiringly how Churchill subtly weaves her earnest polemic into the fabric of the novel.


Stunning, 07 Jun 2001
This play is amazing! The techniques Churchill uses to keep your interest are interesting in themselves. A fantastic plot that keeps you engrossed. A brilliant play that combines the issues of class and gender in an unusual way. A joy to study, going to see this play is is a must.

Shocking, humourous, serious - all at the same time., 09 Dec 2000
Top Girls is one of a number of plays written by the brilliant Caryl Churhill. First performed in the Royal Court Theatre, 1982, the play proved a raging success, also entertaining the Americans when Performed in Joseph Papps Public Theatre New York. Top Girls is a play not neccessarily concerned with providing answers but asking questions, mainly about the rather archaic and unfair patriarchal society in which all of the women in this play are living in, or indeed, have lived in. It also deals with certain issues about women and the world of work, and more specifically, the prices that are attatched to personal success and acheivment. Top Girls is a play which delivers the fundamental elements which theatre is based upon, and goes a lot further and deeper than this. It has educational values and an extremely serious aspect to it, but at the same time can be intriguigly entertaining and addictive, so much so that one may feel that they are emotionally dragged into one of the many, sometimes tense, sometimes funny, sometimes shocking conversations between the brilliantly constucted characters.

However, there is an underlying seriousness to the play which Churchill manages to mix well with the half hearted humour evident throughout the play. Her idea of bringing different flavours of women, from past and present, and placing them around a table as she does in act one, is ambitious to say the least. It does, however, work well, with each character highlighting the changing ideas and themes towards women and oppression. Overall Top Girls is a Top read. Characters are constructed well, and the plot has a somewhat eye opening twist. Would suit anyone in the adult bracket (contains explicit language), who have an interest in the role of women in society, throughout history.

Dated in Places but still required reading, 20 Nov 2007
This book by Gilbert and Gubar was groundbreaking literary criticism when it was first published, and paved the way for an explosion in feminist literary criticism that allowed much existing work to be re-evaluated and enriched by what women had to say
I recently re-read this work, and have to say that some of it is now dated, and the enormous preface to the recent edition does not really add anything to the main body of text, although it does go some way to setting the scene for the research. It seems dated because what Gilbert and Gubar once fought for is now taken for granted by so many, which just shows the success of their achievements.
The majority of the work on the 19th Century novels themselves, particularly the work of Charlotte Bronte is invaluable and always enriching and interesting. Nobody should be able to read these novels without reading these essays because they just make so much sense. The central tenet about the writer and their ability to express the unexpressible aspects of themselves through their literary creations and in particular the character of Bertha Mason from Jane Eyre, is still breathtaking and brilliant. A must read for any serious students of nineteenth century literature.

Feminist lit-crit of the highest order, 26 May 2001
This is the sort of criticism that expands your impression of literature. The authors cast a fresh light on classic women's writing - Austen, the Brontes, etc - by examining how a woman writer's self-perception is shaped by patriarchy and a mysoginistic tradition, and that the anxiety caused by being 'unfeminine' can be found within the writing. It's also well written enough to be read for fun.

A great insight into Victorian feminism, 03 Oct 1999
A must for anyone interested in the feminist aspects of Victorian writing. Gilbert and Gubar explore the writings of canonical Victorian women such as Austen, Eliot and the Bronte sisters with an insight sure to fascinate the academic or just the interested everyday reader.

The Life of Charlotte Bronte (Penguin Classics), 05 May 2003
As per the other reviews on here, this book is an essential read if you want to know the full life and times of the Bronte's.

However, one thing i will say, i found it annoying that some of the names of people mentioned in the book had their names blanked out to protect them as they might still be living, which after this amount of time is very doubtful.

And totally my ignorance is that I don’t speak French, so it meant skipping a few pages every now and then as some of the letters Charlotte had written were in French.

The pace of the book is a little uneven but this may be down to the events, still Definatly a good read.

A must for bronte fans everywhere, 18 Aug 2001
I have a confession to make - I am a bronte obsessive and I am comforted by the fact that I am not alone. For anyone remotely interested in the brontes, this book is essential. Yes, admittedly since its publication there have been an avalanche of biographies etc and few can match Juliet Barker's " The Brontes ", but Gaskell's now somewhat quaint account is one of the first and most tender presentations of a dear friend and there in lies its value.

Everything you want to know about Austen's world!, 27 Nov 2007
This book is cleverly written and split up into manageable sections on different aspects of Jane Austen's world, focussing on things like 18th century etiquette and how to conduct oneself at a ball! Its great to dip into (for fans) and really useful if you're studying Austen at A level, as it explains traditions and the social etiquette that was expected at the time - things that you really do overlook when reading the novels now.

It even goes as far as to discuss the relevance of women wearing "drawers" back in Austen's time! Without giving too much away, it would appear that a respectable young lady would never be caught in a situation where anything above the ankle need be exposed and therefore underwear was deemed unnecessary - promiscuous, even. See - you learn something new every day.

Powerful argument, 29 Jun 2004
This book is a powerful argument that overthrows essentialist discourse in favour of gender as a performative entity. Whilst a seminal work, and in my opinion, a very important viewpoint capable of pushing the feminist movement on by lightyears, I feel that Butler's writing style does not suit the message she puts forward. For someone who's aim is to spread a message to the masses, she writes in an overly academic style. Although I appreciate that she may have needed to do this so that bodies under the influence of a partriachy may take her more seriously, it leaves this book only accesible to the highest academics. I am currently referencing this book in an argument put forward in my thesis for my masters degree and i am having great trouble understanding the language she uses. This is a brilliant book, but I can't help but feel that her language could be made a lot simpler.

Required Reading, 02 Dec 1998
This is a densely written but repeatedly rewarding study of the constructions of gender and sex as they relate to women, lesbians and gay men, and, to follow the logic of Butler's argument, all of us. This work shows not only the relativity of our cultural understanding of femininity but also the limits of our scientific understanding of female-ness. For feminists, Butler's book offers a much-needed examination of what exactly the female subject is and how woman is defined in (or by) our particular culture. Butler goes far beyond Foucault in examining sexuality as socially contructed and, in the process, offers valuable insights to (and critiques of) the writing and thinking of Beauvoir, Kristeva, Lacan, and Wittig. The book's one flaw is a turgid, sometimes redundant prose (i.e. phrases like "judical law" and "'he' [sic]") all too common in technical and philosophical writing, especially, alas, of the postmodernist variety. But once the reader survives the first quarter of the book, he [sic] will find Butler's observations not only accessible but fascinating and, for whatever it's worth, socially important.

Top Play, 19 Mar 2007
This offering from feminist playwright Caryl Churchill is an uncompromising critique of the capitalist mode of feminism as advocated by the model of the eighties power women, most obviously personified by Margaret Thatcher.

'Top Girls' deploys an interesting technique whereby characters narratives overlap leading to complicated scenarios wherein meaning is lost in the melee of competing voices. It certainly makes for difficult listening or reading but acts uniquely as a physical representation of the interupted and disjointed histories of the women whose situation it aims to ameliorate.

The play is split into three main sections. The first act witnesses the meeting of various fictional and non-fictional characters from history, literature and art at a dinner party. The party has been organised to celebrate the recent career success of central character Marlene. Marlene works for an agency designed to find jobs for women.

The first section reflects the women's various instances of "success" whilst exposing the commonality of their suffering both at the hands of men and indeed at their hands of their own complicity with the phallocentric societies in which they found themselves.

The next two acts are situated in the present, within a year of each other, and focus on Marlene's character. This present experience acts as an interesting counterpoint to the dinner-time narratives. It becomes abundantly clear that Marlene too, though ostensibly successful, comes with her own baggage and we are asked to quesiton how far indeed women have come, if at all.

'Top Girls' should not be mistaken for a cynical and negative play: far from it. It's message is that there is hope but only through a socialist ethic of togetherness where the intended output is the common good rather than the elevated succes of the individual. This idea is neatly illustrated by Isabella's illness where she reveals that her head could not be supported by the diseased spine. That is to say, without the foundations of a strong society the most talented and superficially gifted individual cannot truly thrive.

I would recommend it on many levels. On the most basic level it is full of dark humour and the chaotic, drunken opening act is compelling both visually and due to the uinique use of overlapping narratives. Gret will make you smile almost everytime she releases one of her limited utterances while Angie's 'momentary' cannibalism is shocking to the extreme.

However, when revisited you will be able to further plumb its hidden depths and observe admiringly how Churchill subtly weaves her earnest polemic into the fabric of the novel.


Stunning, 07 Jun 2001
This play is amazing! The techniques Churchill uses to keep your interest are interesting in themselves. A fantastic plot that keeps you engrossed. A brilliant play that combines the issues of class and gender in an unusual way. A joy to study, going to see this play is is a must.

Shocking, humourous, serious - all at the same time., 09 Dec 2000
Top Girls is one of a number of plays written by the brilliant Caryl Churhill. First performed in the Royal Court Theatre, 1982, the play proved a raging success, also entertaining the Americans when Performed in Joseph Papps Public Theatre New York. Top Girls is a play not neccessarily concerned with providing answers but asking questions, mainly about the rather archaic and unfair patriarchal society in which all of the women in this play are living in, or indeed, have lived in. It also deals with certain issues about women and the world of work, and more specifically, the prices that are attatched to personal success and acheivment. Top Girls is a play which delivers the fundamental elements which theatre is based upon, and goes a lot further and deeper than this. It has educational values and an extremely serious aspect to it, but at the same time can be intriguigly entertaining and addictive, so much so that one may feel that they are emotionally dragged into one of the many, sometimes tense, sometimes funny, sometimes shocking conversations between the brilliantly constucted characters.

However, there is an underlying seriousness to the play which Churchill manages to mix well with the half hearted humour evident throughout the play. Her idea of bringing different flavours of women, from past and present, and placing them around a table as she does in act one, is ambitious to say the least. It does, however, work well, with each character highlighting the changing ideas and themes towards women and oppression. Overall Top Girls is a Top read. Characters are constructed well, and the plot has a somewhat eye opening twist. Would suit anyone in the adult bracket (contains explicit language), who have an interest in the role of women in society, throughout history.

Dated in Places but still required reading, 20 Nov 2007
This book by Gilbert and Gubar was groundbreaking literary criticism when it was first published, and paved the way for an explosion in feminist literary criticism that allowed much existing work to be re-evaluated and enriched by what women had to say
I recently re-read this work, and have to say that some of it is now dated, and the enormous preface to the recent edition does not really add anything to the main body of text, although it does go some way to setting the scene for the research. It seems dated because what Gilbert and Gubar once fought for is now taken for granted by so many, which just shows the success of their achievements.
The majority of the work on the 19th Century novels themselves, particularly the work of Charlotte Bronte is invaluable and always enriching and interesting. Nobody should be able to read these novels without reading these essays because they just make so much sense. The central tenet about the writer and their ability to express the unexpressible aspects of themselves through their literary creations and in particular the character of Bertha Mason from Jane Eyre, is still breathtaking and brilliant. A must read for any serious students of nineteenth century literature.

Feminist lit-crit of the highest order, 26 May 2001
This is the sort of criticism that expands your impression of literature. The authors cast a fresh light on classic women's writing - Austen, the Brontes, etc - by examining how a woman writer's self-perception is shaped by patriarchy and a mysoginistic tradition, and that the anxiety caused by being 'unfeminine' can be found within the writing. It's also well written enough to be read for fun.

A great insight into Victorian feminism, 03 Oct 1999
A must for anyone interested in the feminist aspects of Victorian writing. Gilbert and Gubar explore the writings of canonical Victorian women such as Austen, Eliot and the Bronte sisters with an insight sure to fascinate the academic or just the interested everyday reader.

The Life of Charlotte Bronte (Penguin Classics), 05 May 2003
As per the other reviews on here, this book is an essential read if you want to know the full life and times of the Bronte's.

However, one thing i will say, i found it annoying that some of the names of people mentioned in the book had their names blanked out to protect them as they might still be living, which after this amount of time is very doubtful.

And totally my ignorance is that I don’t speak French, so it meant skipping a few pages every now and then as some of the letters Charlotte had written were in French.

The pace of the book is a little uneven but this may be down to the events, still Definatly a good read.

A must for bronte fans everywhere, 18 Aug 2001
I have a confession to make - I am a bronte obsessive and I am comforted by the fact that I am not alone. For anyone remotely interested in the brontes, this book is essential. Yes, admittedly since its publication there have been an avalanche of biographies etc and few can match Juliet Barker's " The Brontes ", but Gaskell's now somewhat quaint account is one of the first and most tender presentations of a dear friend and there in lies its value.

Everything you want to know about Austen's world!, 27 Nov 2007
This book is cleverly written and split up into manageable sections on different aspects of Jane Austen's world, focussing on things like 18th century etiquette and how to conduct oneself at a ball! Its great to dip into (for fans) and really useful if you're studying Austen at A level, as it explains traditions and the social etiquette that was expected at the time - things that you really do overlook when reading the novels now.

It even goes as far as to discuss the relevance of women wearing "drawers" back in Austen's time! Without giving too much away, it would appear that a respectable young lady would never be caught in a situation where anything above the ankle need be exposed and therefore underwear was deemed unnecessary - promiscuous, even. See - you learn something new every day.

A very useful book, 28 Nov 2005
I bought this book as a starting point for my paper on Woolf. I'd enjoyed a couple of Woolf's novels already, but had read them pretty uncritically. This book provided me with a helpful overview of the sorts of things that influenced Woolf's writing - I would definitely recommend it to other students beginning to study or thinking about studying Woolf.

A very good read, 06 Oct 2005
I read this when I was in bed recovering from 'flu.

It is an excellent read. I last read Woolf when I was a student in 1972. My memory was hazy. I hoped that this book would ease me back into the types of issues important to Woolf and to her writing. It did the job.

I am now using my new life of leisure to read Woolf's work.

Buy this now!, 01 Sep 2005
With a number of abortive attempts to complete either Mrs Dalloway (1925) or To The Lighthouse (1927) already behind me, it was with some trepidation that I embarked upon the study of Virginia Woolf for my English Literature (1900-1950) paper. Friends raved about her rejection of the traditional narrative form along with her poetic, impressionistic depictions of life. But I yearned for a more traditional narrative structure, or, in short, something that might be labelled "plot".

Failure of this paper looked imminent and inevitable, until a friend recommended this excellent book. Written in a concise, lucid, and highly engaging style, the author provides lively and interesting biographical information, as well as rigorously examining the historical and cultural contexts to Woolf's work. The book also contains a final chapter on the adaptation of Woolf's novels on film and stage, which I found especially helpful in thinking about the interpretation of Woolf's work today.

The author has succeeded admirably in condensing all the key information into just over two hundred pages, making it more than possible for students and interested parties to read the entire book. For those who are more time pressed, or who just need to locate information swiftly for an essay, the author structures the book so as to render it easy to locate relevant information: for example, there are clearly written and well-researched chapters focusing specifically on the literary scene, scientific contexts, and philosophical contexts. I also found the author's chronology of Virginia Woolf (laid out to set events from her life alongside the key historical and cultural background) extremely helpful: this encouraged me to look beyond the confines of individual novels and to obtain a richer picture of Woolf's world.

The book is written at such a level and in such a style that it will more than satisfy both those (like me) whose understanding of Woolf's aims were previously only very superficial (possibly even before embarking on reading her novels) as well as those who are already highly familiar with Woolf and her work, but who are seeking further detail and thought-provoking analysis from a highly-respected critic in this field.

This book captured my interest in Woolf, and convinced me that it was worth struggling with her work. I've now grown not just to appreciate the subtlety and richness of her novels but also to love her work - amazingly, I've also been inspired to read more of it for pleasure!

Virginia Woolf in context, 30 Mar 2005
This book is an ideal way to step into the world of Virginia Woolf. Like many people, I became interested in her works after seeing "The Hours" and read "Mrs Dalloway." I found the novel stimulating and enjoyable but I realised that there was much that I was missing. I then read "The Hours" and the links are fairly obvious but I was interested in knowing more and trying to reach the depths of Woolf's work.

Well, this is the book that did that for me. It gives a detailed background for the Britain that Woolf was brought up in, her family history, the social, philosophical and scientific context that influenced her work.

It laid open many of Woolf's techniques, helped me understand that she was more than just a suicide, made me think about the different personas that we have, how time affects our lives.

I am now encouraged to read more Woolf with the impression that I will understand more, that I will be able to put words to those strange feelings that I have when reading a good novel.

There are many references to Woolf's different novels, taken thematically which help understand specific points. The book is not a complete critique of Woolf's life and work but is not meant to be. It is alos much more accessible than his previous work "Einstein's Wake".

I may well use this book as a kind of companion as I read more Woolf, something to refer to in moments of confusion. The one question that troubles me slightly is would it be better to read all of Woolf before or after this book? I'm not sure, so I'm going to do both.Hey, I've even recommended it to my mother!

Powerful argument, 29 Jun 2004
This book is a powerful argument that overthrows essentialist discourse in favour of gender as a performative entity. Whilst a seminal work, and in my opinion, a very important viewpoint capable of pushing the feminist movement on by lightyears, I feel that Butler's writing style does not suit the message she puts forward. For someone who's aim is to spread a message to the masses, she writes in an overly academic style. Although I appreciate that she may have needed to do this so that bodies under the influence of a partriachy may take her more seriously, it leaves this book only accesible to the highest academics. I am currently referencing this book in an argument put forward in my thesis for my masters degree and i am having great trouble understanding the language she uses. This is a brilliant book, but I can't help but feel that her language could be made a lot simpler.

Required Reading, 02 Dec 1998
This is a densely written but repeatedly rewarding study of the constructions of gender and sex as they relate to women, lesbians and gay men, and, to follow the logic of Butler's argument, all of us. This work shows not only the relativity of our cultural understanding of femininity but also the limits of our scientific understanding of female-ness. For feminists, Butler's book offers a much-needed examination of what exactly the female subject is and how woman is defined in (or by) our particular culture. Butler goes far beyond Foucault in examining sexuality as socially contructed and, in the process, offers valuable insights to (and critiques of) the writing and thinking of Beauvoir, Kristeva, Lacan, and Wittig. The book's one flaw is a turgid, sometimes redundant prose (i.e. phrases like "judical law" and "'he' [sic]") all too common in technical and philosophical writing, especially, alas, of the postmodernist variety. But once the reader survives the first quarter of the book, he [sic] will find Butler's observations not only accessible but fascinating and, for whatever it's worth, socially important.

Top Play, 19 Mar 2007
This offering from feminist playwright Caryl Churchill is an uncompromising critique of the capitalist mode of feminism as advocated by the model of the eighties power women, most obviously personified by Margaret Thatcher.

'Top Girls' deploys an interesting technique whereby characters narratives overlap leading to complicated scenarios wherein meaning is lost in the melee of competing voices. It certainly makes for difficult listening or reading but acts uniquely as a physical representation of the interupted and disjointed histories of the women whose situation it aims to ameliorate.

The play is split into three main sections. The first act witnesses the meeting of various fictional and non-fictional characters from history, literature and art at a dinner party. The party has been organised to celebrate the recent career success of central character Marlene. Marlene works for an agency designed to find jobs for women.

The first section reflects the women's various instances of "success" whilst exposing the commonality of their suffering both at the hands of men and indeed at their hands of their own complicity with the phallocentric societies in which they found themselves.

The next two acts are situated in the present, within a year of each other, and focus on Marlene's character. This present experience acts as an interesting counterpoint to the dinner-time narratives. It becomes abundantly clear that Marlene too, though ostensibly successful, comes with her own baggage and we are asked to quesiton how far indeed women have come, if at all.

'Top Girls' should not be mistaken for a cynical and negative play: far from it. It's message is that there is hope but only through a socialist ethic of togetherness where the intended output is the common good rather than the elevated succes of the individual. This idea is neatly illustrated by Isabella's illness where she reveals that her head could not be supported by the diseased spine. That is to say, without the foundations of a strong society the most talented and superficially gifted individual cannot truly thrive.

I would recommend it on many levels. On the most basic level it is full of dark humour and the chaotic, drunken opening act is compelling both visually and due to the uinique use of overlapping narratives. Gret will make you smile almost everytime she releases one of her limited utterances while Angie's 'momentary' cannibalism is shocking to the extreme.

However, when revisited you will be able to further plumb its hidden depths and observe admiringly how Churchill subtly weaves her earnest polemic into the fabric of the novel.


Stunning, 07 Jun 2001
This play is amazing! The techniques Churchill uses to keep your interest are interesting in themselves. A fantastic plot that keeps you engrossed. A brilliant play that combines the issues of class and gender in an unusual way. A joy to study, going to see this play is is a must.

Shocking, humourous, serious - all at the same time., 09 Dec 2000
Top Girls is one of a number of plays written by the brilliant Caryl Churhill. First performed in the Royal Court Theatre, 1982, the play proved a raging success, also entertaining the Americans when Performed in Joseph Papps Public Theatre New York. Top Girls is a play not neccessarily concerned with providing answers but asking questions, mainly about the rather archaic and unfair patriarchal society in which all of the women in this play are living in, or indeed, have lived in. It also deals with certain issues about women and the world of work, and more specifically, the prices that are attatched to personal success and acheivment. Top Girls is a play which delivers the fundamental elements which theatre is based upon, and goes a lot further and deeper than this. It has educational values and an extremely serious aspect to it, but at the same time can be intriguigly entertaining and addictive, so much so that one may feel that they are emotionally dragged into one of the many, sometimes tense, sometimes funny, sometimes shocking conversations between the brilliantly constucted characters.

However, there is an underlying seriousness to the play which Churchill manages to mix well with the half hearted humour evident throughout the play. Her idea of bringing different flavours of women, from past and present, and placing them around a table as she does in act one, is ambitious to say the least. It does, however, work well, with each character highlighting the changing ideas and themes towards women and oppression. Overall Top Girls is a Top read. Characters are constructed well, and the plot has a somewhat eye opening twist. Would suit anyone in the adult bracket (contains explicit language), who have an interest in the role of women in society, throughout history.

Dated in Places but still required reading, 20 Nov 2007
This book by Gilbert and Gubar was groundbreaking literary criticism when it was first published, and paved the way for an explosion in feminist literary criticism that allowed much existing work to be re-evaluated and enriched by what women had to say
I recently re-read this work, and have to say that some of it is now dated, and the enormous preface to the recent edition does not really add anything to the main body of text, although it does go some way to setting the scene for the research. It seems dated because what Gilbert and Gubar once fought for is now taken for granted by so many, which just shows the success of their achievements.
The majority of the work on the 19th Century novels themselves, particularly the work of Charlotte Bronte is invaluable and always enriching and interesting. Nobody should be able to read these novels without reading these essays because they just make so much sense. The central tenet about the writer and their ability to express the unexpressible aspects of themselves through their literary creations and in particular the character of Bertha Mason from Jane Eyre, is still breathtaking and brilliant. A must read for any serious students of nineteenth century literature.

Feminist lit-crit of the highest order, 26 May 2001
This is the sort of criticism that expands your impression of literature. The authors cast a fresh light on classic women's writing - Austen, the Brontes, etc - by examining how a woman writer's self-perception is shaped by patriarchy and a mysoginistic tradition, and that the anxiety caused by being 'unfeminine' can be found within the writing. It's also well written enough to be read for fun.

A great insight into Victorian feminism, 03 Oct 1999
A must for anyone interested in the feminist aspects of Victorian writing. Gilbert and Gubar explore the writings of canonical Victorian women such as Austen, Eliot and the Bronte sisters with an insight sure to fascinate the academic or just the interested everyday reader.

The Life of Charlotte Bronte (Penguin Classics), 05 May 2003
As per the other reviews on here, this book is an essential read if you want to know the full life and times of the Bronte's.

However, one thing i will say, i found it annoying that some of the names of people mentioned in the book had their names blanked out to protect them as they might still be living, which after this amount of time is very doubtful.

And totally my ignorance is that I don’t speak French, so it meant skipping a few pages every now and then as some of the letters Charlotte had written were in French.

The pace of the book is a little uneven but this may be down to the events, still Definatly a good read.

A must for bronte fans everywhere, 18 Aug 2001
I have a confession to make - I am a bronte obsessive and I am comforted by the fact that I am not alone. For anyone remotely interested in the brontes, this book is essential. Yes, admittedly since its publication there have been an avalanche of biographies etc and few can match Juliet Barker's " The Brontes ", but Gaskell's now somewhat quaint account is one of the first and most tender presentations of a dear friend and there in lies its value.

Everything you want to know about Austen's world!, 27 Nov 2007
This book is cleverly written and split up into manageable sections on different aspects of Jane Austen's world, focussing on things like 18th century etiquette and how to conduct oneself at a ball! Its great to dip into (for fans) and really useful if you're studying Austen at A level, as it explains traditions and the social etiquette that was expected at the time - things that you really do overlook when reading the novels now.

It even goes as far as to discuss the relevance of women wearing "drawers" back in Austen's time! Without giving too much away, it would appear that a respectable young lady would never be caught in a situation where anything above the ankle need be exposed and therefore underwear was deemed unnecessary - promiscuous, even. See - you learn something new every day.

A very useful book, 28 Nov 2005
I bought this book as a starting point for my paper on Woolf. I'd enjoyed a couple of Woolf's novels already, but had read them pretty uncritically. This book provided me with a helpful overview of the sorts of things that influenced Woolf's writing - I would definitely recommend it to other students beginning to study or thinking about studying Woolf.

A very good read, 06 Oct 2005
I read this when I was in bed recovering from 'flu.

It is an excellent read. I last read Woolf when I was a student in 1972. My memory was hazy. I hoped that this book would ease me back into the types of issues important to Woolf and to her writing. It did the job.

I am now using my new life of leisure to read Woolf's work.

Buy this now!, 01 Sep 2005
With a number of abortive attempts to complete either Mrs Dalloway (1925) or To The Lighthouse (1927) already behind me, it was with some trepidation that I embarked upon the study of Virginia Woolf for my English Literature (1900-1950) paper. Friends raved about her rejection of the traditional narrative form along with her poetic, impressionistic depictions of life. But I yearned for a more traditional narrative structure, or, in short, something that might be labelled "plot".

Failure of this paper looked imminent and inevitable, until a friend recommended this excellent book. Written in a concise, lucid, and highly engaging style, the author provides lively and interesting biographical information, as well as rigorously examining the historical and cultural contexts to Woolf's work. The book also contains a final chapter on the adaptation of Woolf's novels on film and stage, which I found especially helpful in thinking about the interpretation of Woolf's work today.

The author has succeeded admirably in condensing all the key information into just over two hundred pages, making it more than possible for students and interested parties to read the entire book. For those who are more time pressed, or who just need to locate information swiftly for an essay, the author structures the book so as to render it easy to locate relevant information: for example, there are clearly written and well-researched chapters focusing specifically on the literary scene, scientific contexts, and philosophical contexts. I also found the author's chronology of Virginia Woolf (laid out to set events from her life alongside the key historical and cultural background) extremely helpful: this encouraged me to look beyond the confines of individual novels and to obtain a richer picture of Woolf's world.

The book is written at such a level and in such a style that it will more than satisfy both those (like me) whose understanding of Woolf's aims were previously only very superficial (possibly even before embarking on reading her novels) as well as those who are already highly familiar with Woolf and her work, but who are seeking further detail and thought-provoking analysis from a highly-respected critic in this field.

This book captured my interest in Woolf, and convinced me that it was worth struggling with her work. I've now grown not just to appreciate the subtlety and richness of her novels but also to love her work - amazingly, I've also been inspired to read more of it for pleasure!

Virginia Woolf in context, 30 Mar 2005
This book is an ideal way to step into the world of Virginia Woolf. Like many people, I became interested in her works after seeing "The Hours" and read "Mrs Dalloway." I found the novel stimulating and enjoyable but I realised that there was much that I was missing. I then read "The Hours" and the links are fairly obvious but I was interested in knowing more and trying to reach the depths of Woolf's work.

Well, this is the book that did that for me. It gives a detailed background for the Britain that Woolf was brought up in, her family history, the social, philosophical and scientific context that influenced her work.

It laid open many of Woolf's techniques, helped me understand that she was more than just a suicide, made me think about the different personas that we have, how time affects our lives.

I am now encouraged to read more Woolf with the impression that I will understand more, that I will be able to put words to those strange feelings that I have when reading a good novel.

There are many references to Woolf's different novels, taken thematically which help understand specific points. The book is not a complete critique of Woolf's life and work but is not meant to be. It is alos much more accessible than his previous work "Einstein's Wake".

I may well use this book as a kind of companion as I read more Woolf, something to refer to in moments of confusion. The one question that troubles me slightly is would it be better to read all of Woolf before or after this book? I'm not sure, so I'm going to do both.Hey, I've even recommended it to my mother!

Epic theatre at its best, 19 Mar 2007
This play is stylised, enjoyable, and combines elemts of Brechtian theatre with naturalsim. We used this for our A2 theatre Studies performance and it worked really well, even with cuts. Polly Teale's writing is fluid without being colloquial and all her characters have their own particular elements. Warning- this play is not for those who want a nice naturalistic easy play. it is challenging in places and certainly poses many questions about women's place in society and why people write.

Focusing on the lives of the 3 Bronte sisters and their brother and father, the relationships, often uneasy, are explored allowing the actors to step in and our of character as they tell ther story. From children making up stories to entertain themselves to Charlotte destroying Emily's novel, the script ooses drama and potential. Very enjoyable to perform in and a delight to read. Anyone remotely interested in the Brontes or epic Brechtian theatre should read this!

Powerful argument, 29 Jun 2004
This book is a powerful argument that overthrows essentialist discourse in favour of gender as a performative entity. Whilst a seminal work, and in my opinion, a very important viewpoint capable of pushing the feminist movement on by lightyears, I feel that Butler's writing style does not suit the message she puts forward. For someone who's aim is to spread a message to the masses, she writes in an overly academic style. Although I appreciate that she may have needed to do this so that bodies under the influence of a partriachy may take her more seriously, it leaves this book only accesible to the highest academics. I am currently referencing this book in an argument put forward in my thesis for my masters degree and i am having great trouble understanding the language she uses. This is a brilliant book, but I can't help but feel that her language could be made a lot simpler.

Required Reading, 02 Dec 1998
This is a densely written but repeatedly rewarding study of the constructions of gender and sex as they relate to women, lesbians and gay men, and, to follow the logic of Butler's argument, all of us. This work shows not only the relativity of our cultural understanding of femininity but also the limits of our scientific understanding of female-ness. For feminists, Butler's book offers a much-needed examination of what exactly the female subject is and how woman is defined in (or by) our particular culture. Butler goes far beyond Foucault in examining sexuality as socially contructed and, in the process, offers valuable insights to (and critiques of) the writing and thinking of Beauvoir, Kristeva, Lacan, and Wittig. The book's one flaw is a turgid, sometimes redundant prose (i.e. phrases like "judical law" and "'he' [sic]") all too common in technical and philosophical writing, especially, alas, of the postmodernist variety. But once the reader survives the first quarter of the book, he [sic] will find Butler's observations not only accessible but fascinating and, for whatever it's worth, socially important.

Top Play, 19 Mar 2007
This offering from feminist playwright Caryl Churchill is an uncompromising critique of the capitalist mode of feminism as advocated by the model of the eighties power women, most obviously personified by Margaret Thatcher.

'Top Girls' deploys an interesting technique whereby characters narratives overlap leading to complicated scenarios wherein meaning is lost in the melee of competing voices. It certainly makes for difficult listening or reading but acts uniquely as a physical representation of the interupted and disjointed histories of the women whose situation it aims to ameliorate.

The play is split into three main sections. The first act witnesses the meeting of various fictional and non-fictional characters from history, literature and art at a dinner party. The party has been organised to celebrate the recent career success of central character Marlene. Marlene works for an agency designed to find jobs for women.

The first section reflects the women's various instances of "success" whilst exposing the commonality of their suffering both at the hands of men and indeed at their hands of their own complicity with the phallocentric societies in which they found themselves.

The next two acts are situated in the present, within a year of each other, and focus on Marlene's character. This present experience acts as an interesting counterpoint to the dinner-time narratives. It becomes abundantly clear that Marlene too, though ostensibly successful, comes with her own baggage and we are asked to quesiton how far indeed women have come, if at all.

'Top Girls' should not be mistaken for a cynical and negative play: far from it. It's message is that there is hope but only through a socialist ethic of togetherness where the intended output is the common good rather than the elevated succes of the individual. This idea is neatly illustrated by Isabella's illness where she reveals that her head could not be supported by the diseased spine. That is to say, without the foundations of a strong society the most talented and superficially gifted individual cannot truly thrive.

I would recommend it on many levels. On the most basic level it is full of dark humour and the chaotic, drunken opening act is compelling both visually and due to the uinique use of overlapping narratives. Gret will make you smile almost everytime she releases one of her limited utterances while Angie's 'momentary' cannibalism is shocking to the extreme.

However, when revisited you will be able to further plumb its hidden depths and observe admiringly how Churchill subtly weaves her earnest polemic into the fabric of the novel.


Stunning, 07 Jun 2001
This play is amazing! The techniques Churchill uses to keep your interest are interesting in themselves. A fantastic plot that keeps you engrossed. A brilliant play that combines the issues of class and gender in an unusual way. A joy to study, going to see this play is is a must.

Shocking, humourous, serious - all at the same time., 09 Dec 2000
Top Girls is one of a number of plays written by the brilliant Caryl Churhill. First performed in the Royal Court Theatre, 1982, the play proved a raging success, also entertaining the Americans when Performed in Joseph Papps Public Theatre New York. Top Girls is a play not neccessarily concerned with providing answers but asking questions, mainly about the rather archaic and unfair patriarchal society in which all of the women in this play are living in, or indeed, have lived in. It also deals with certain issues about women and the world of work, and more specifically, the prices that are attatched to personal success and acheivment. Top Girls is a play which delivers the fundamental elements which theatre is based upon, and goes a lot further and deeper than this. It has educational values and an extremely serious aspect to it, but at the same time can be intriguigly entertaining and addictive, so much so that one may feel that they are emotionally dragged into one of the many, sometimes tense, sometimes funny, sometimes shocking conversations between the brilliantly constucted characters.

However, there is an underlying seriousness to the play which Churchill manages to mix well with the half hearted humour evident throughout the play. Her idea of bringing different flavours of women, from past and present, and placing them around a table as she does in act one, is ambitious to say the least. It does, however, work well, with each character highlighting the changing ideas and themes towards women and oppression. Overall Top Girls is a Top read. Characters are constructed well, and the plot has a somewhat eye opening twist. Would suit anyone in the adult bracket (contains explicit language), who have an interest in the role of women in society, throughout history.

Dated in Places but still required reading, 20 Nov 2007
This book by Gilbert and Gubar was groundbreaking literary criticism when it was first published, and paved the way for an explosion in feminist literary criticism that allowed much existing work to be re-evaluated and enriched by what women had to say
I recently re-read this work, and have to say that some of it is now dated, and the enormous preface to the recent edition does not really add anything to the main body of text, although it does go some way to setting the scene for the research. It seems dated because what Gilbert and Gubar once fought for is now taken for granted by so many, which just shows the success of their achievements.
The majority of the work on the 19th Century novels themselves, particularly the work of Charlotte Bronte is invaluable and always enriching and interesting. Nobody should be able to read these novels without reading these essays because they just make so much sense. The central tenet about the writer and their ability to express the unexpressible aspects of themselves through their literary creations and in particular the character of Bertha Mason from Jane Eyre, is still breathtaking and brilliant. A must read for any serious students of nineteenth century literature.

Feminist lit-crit of the highest order, 26 May 2001
This is the sort of criticism that expands your impression of literature. The authors cast a fresh light on classic women's writing - Austen, the Brontes, etc - by examining how a woman writer's self-perception is shaped by patriarchy and a mysoginistic tradition, and that the anxiety caused by being 'unfeminine' can be found within the writing. It's also well written enough to be read for fun.

A great insight into Victorian feminism, 03 Oct 1999
A must for anyone interested in the feminist aspects of Victorian writing. Gilbert and Gubar explore the writings of canonical Victorian women such as Austen, Eliot and the Bronte sisters with an insight sure to fascinate the academic or just the interested everyday reader.

The Life of Charlotte Bronte (Penguin Classics), 05 May 2003
As per the other reviews on here, this book is an essential read if you want to know the full life and times of the Bronte's.

However, one thing i will say, i found it annoying that some of the names of people mentioned in the book had their names blanked out to protect them as they might still be living, which after this amount of time is very doubtful.

And totally my ignorance is that I don’t speak French, so it meant skipping a few pages every now and then as some of the letters Charlotte had written were in French.

The pace of the book is a little uneven but this may be down to the events, still Definatly a good read.

A must for bronte fans everywhere, 18 Aug 2001
I have a confession to make - I am a bronte obsessive and I am comforted by the fact that I am not alone. For anyone remotely interested in the brontes, this book is essential. Yes, admittedly since its publication there have been an avalanche of biographies etc and few can match Juliet Barker's " The Brontes ", but Gaskell's now somewhat quaint account is one of the first and most tender presentations of a dear friend and there in lies its value.

Everything you want to know about Austen's world!, 27 Nov 2007
This book is cleverly written and split up into manageable sections on different aspects of Jane Austen's world, focussing on things like 18th century etiquette and how to conduct oneself at a ball! Its great to dip into (for fans) and really useful if you're studying Austen at A level, as it explains traditions and the social etiquette that was expected at the time - things that you really do overlook when reading the novels now.

It even goes as far as to discuss the relevance of women wearing "drawers" back in Austen's time! Without giving too much away, it would appear that a respectable young lady would never be caught in a situation where anything above the ankle need be exposed and therefore underwear was deemed unnecessary - promiscuous, even. See - you learn something new every day.

A very useful book, 28 Nov 2005
I bought this book as a starting point for my paper on Woolf. I'd enjoyed a couple of Woolf's novels already, but had read them pretty uncritically. This book provided me with a helpful overview of the sorts of things that influenced Woolf's writing - I would definitely recommend it to other students beginning to study or thinking about studying Woolf.

A very good read, 06 Oct 2005
I read this when I was in bed recovering from 'flu.

It is an excellent read. I last read Woolf when I was a student in 1972. My memory was hazy. I hoped that this book would ease me back into the types of issues important to Woolf and to her writing. It did the job.

I am now using my new life of leisure to read Woolf's work.

Buy this now!, 01 Sep 2005
With a number of abortive attempts to complete either Mrs Dalloway (1925) or To The Lighthouse (1927) already behind me, it was with some trepidation that I embarked upon the study of Virginia Woolf for my English Literature (1900-1950) paper. Friends raved about her rejection of the traditional narrative form along with her poetic, impressionistic depictions of life. But I yearned for a more traditional narrative structure, or, in short, something that might be labelled "plot".

Failure of this paper looked imminent and inevitable, until a friend recommended this excellent book. Written in a concise, lucid, and highly engaging style, the author provides lively and interesting biographical information, as well as rigorously examining the historical and cultural contexts to Woolf's work. The book also contains a final chapter on the adaptation of Woolf's novels on film and stage, which I found especially helpful in thinking about the interpretation of Woolf's work today.

The author has succeeded admirably in condensing all the key information into just over two hundred pages, making it more than possible for students and interested parties to read the entire book. For those who are more time pressed, or who just need to locate information swiftly for an essay, the author structures the book so as to render it easy to locate relevant information: for example, there are clearly written and well-researched chapters focusing specifically on the literary scene, scientific contexts, and philosophical contexts. I also found the author's chronology of Virginia Woolf (laid out to set events from her life alongside the key historical and cultural background) extremely helpful: this encouraged me to look beyond the confines of individual novels and to obtain a richer picture of Woolf's world.

The book is written at such a level and in such a style that it will more than satisfy both those (like me) whose understanding of Woolf's aims were previously only very superficial (possibly even before embarking on reading her novels) as well as those who are already highly familiar with Woolf and her work, but who are seeking further detail and thought-provoking analysis from a highly-respected critic in this field.

This book captured my interest in Woolf, and convinced me that it was worth struggling with her work. I've now grown not just to appreciate the subtlety and richness of her novels but also to love her work - amazingly, I've also been inspired to read more of it for pleasure!

Virginia Woolf in context, 30 Mar 2005
This book is an ideal way to step into the world of Virginia Woolf. Like many people, I became interested in her works after seeing "The Hours" and read "Mrs Dalloway." I found the novel stimulating and enjoyable but I realised that there was much that I was missing. I then read "The Hours" and the links are fairly obvious but I was interested in knowing more and trying to reach the depths of Woolf's work.

Well, this is the book that did that for me. It gives a detailed background for the Britain that Woolf was brought up in, her family history, the social, philosophical and scientific context that influenced her work.

It laid open many of Woolf's techniques, helped me understand that she was more than just a suicide, made me think about the different personas that we have, how time affects our lives.

I am now encouraged to read more Woolf with the impression that I will understand more, that I will be able to put words to those strange feelings that I have when reading a good novel.

There are many references to Woolf's different novels, taken thematically which help understand specific points. The book is not a complete critique of Woolf's life and work but is not meant to be. It is alos much more accessible than his previous work "Einstein's Wake".

I may well use this book as a kind of companion as I read more Woolf, something to refer to in moments of confusion. The one question that troubles me slightly is would it be better to read all of Woolf before or after this book? I'm not sure, so I'm going to do both.Hey, I've even recommended it to my mother!

Epic theatre at its best, 19 Mar 2007
This play is stylised, enjoyable, and combines elemts of Brechtian theatre with naturalsim. We used this for our A2 theatre Studies performance and it worked really well, even with cuts. Polly Teale's writing is fluid without being colloquial and all her characters have their own particular elements. Warning- this play is not for those who want a nice naturalistic easy play. it is challenging in places and certainly poses many questions about women's place in society and why people write.

Focusing on the lives of the 3 Bronte sisters and their brother and father, the relationships, often uneasy, are explored allowing the actors to step in and our of character as they tell ther story. From children making up stories to entertain themselves to Charlotte destroying Emily's novel, the script ooses drama and potential. Very enjoyable to perform in and a delight to read. Anyone remotely interes