Women and power in 20thC Fiction
1950s to 1980s
Women and Power in 20thC Fiction:
1950s to 1980s, with Miles Leeson
This is the second course on key novels by women writers of the twentieth century. We study five great works from the 1950s to the 1980s – a time of significant change for women.
The history of women's writing throughout the twentieth century is one of contestation and a desire for agency. We will explore the rich ways in which these novels think about the inner lives of their characters. And we will study the cultural and historical backgrounds which produced these fascinating books.
Each of these five novels, through domestic, religious, romantic and fantastical settings, provides access to both the post-war and second-wave feminist periods and asks questions regarding the roles and rights of women in contested spaces.
We move from the late modernism of Elizabeth Taylor's Angel (1957), a reflection on writing and education through to the reimagining of classical fairy tales in Carter, and beyond to the romantic quietism of Hotel du Lac. We'll trace the roles and right of women, reflect on access to agency and power, and the restrictions that continue to be placed upon women's freedom.
Five sessions on Sundays, fortnightly, from 14 September to 9 November 2025, 6.00-8.00 pm.
Set Reading
Elizabeth Taylor, Angel (1957)
Rumer Godden, In this House of Brede (1969)
Angela Carter, The Bloody Chamber (1979)
Alice Thomas Ellis, The Birds of the Air (1980)
Anita Brookner, Hotel du Lac (1984)
Course fees
£260 full price
£230 students on a low income
£230 CAMcard holders
Fees include 20% VAT
Zoom link
We will send you a Zoom link by email at least 24 hours before the course begins. If the link does not arrive, please let us know by email in good time, at least an hour before the session begins, so we can re-send.
Recordings
This is a 5-week course, with a live online lecture and seminar each week. The lectures are recorded so that participants can listen again during the course if they wish. The seminars are not recorded.
If you cannot attend a course you have booked
Please note that, because places are limited, we cannot usually give refunds if you cannot attend a course. But if you contact us in advance, we might be able to transfer your booking to a different course.
Praise for the first course on Women and Power in the 20thC:
'The course has been wonderful. Miles is so knowledgeable and erudite, as he always has been. It’s encouraged me to read and re-read books I know, or thought I did, and take an entirely fresh view of the author and her work.’
- Stephen Lehec, England
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