Books by May Sinclair

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 fiancé. 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.

A moral fable about the narrow existence that results from self-sacrifice, this novel traces a Victorian woman''s stunted life to offer a memorable criticism of 19th-century middle-class values.

May Sinclair was the pseudonym of Mary Amelia St. Clair (24 August 1863 - 14 November 1946), a popular British writer who wrote about two dozen novels, short stories and poetry. She was an active suffragist, and member of the Woman Writers' Suffrage League. She once dressed up as a demure, rebel Jane Austen for a suffrage fundraising event. Sinclair was also a significant critic in the area of modernist poetry and prose, and she is attributed with first using the term 'stream of consciousness' in a literary context, when reviewing the first volumes of Dorothy Richardson's novel sequence Pilgrimage (1915-67), in The Egoist, April 1918.

"The Three Brontës" is a 1912 treatise on the Brontë sisters by Mary St. Clair. Within this volume Sinclair explores their lives, characters, and works in great detail, offering the reader a fascinating and informative glimpse into their unique world. The Brontës were a famous literary family during the nineteenth century synonymous with the West Riding area of Yorkshire, England. The sisters, Charlotte (1816-1855), Emily (1818-1848), and Anne (1820-1849), are now world-famous poets and novelists; and their father, Patrick Brontë (1777 - 1861), was also an author. Numerous novels produced by this family have since become classics of English literature. Mary Amelia St. Clair (1863 -1946), also known by the pen name May Sinclair, was a British writer, active suffragist, and member of the Woman Writers' Suffrage League. Other notable works by this author include: "Nakiketas and other poems" (1886), "Essays in Verse" (1892), and "Audrey Craven" (1897). Contents include: "Prefatory Note", "Introduction", "The Three Brontës", "Appendix I", and "Appendix II". Many vintage books such as this are increasingly scarce and expensive. It is with this in mind that we are republishing this classic volume now in an affordable, modern, high-quality edition for the enjoyment of literature lovers now and for years to come.

* Spare and deft, The Life and Death of Harriett Frean is the quintessential modernist novel* Sinclair's work is hugely important in terms of the development of the novel and the representation of women's lives

Born in 1865, Mary Olivier is the youngest of four. Mamma, the archetype of all women who rule through weakness and suffering, dominates her Victorian household, idolizing her sons, rejecting the independent love of her only daughter. Mary, in response, both adores and hates her mother.