Publisher's Synopsis
This is the first book to examine the ways in which feminists have made use of a number of fictional forms, including science fiction, fantasy, utopian fiction, detective fiction and romance.
Cranny–Francis shows how feminist authors have used fictional genres to explore new possibilities about society and about the roles and conceptions of women. Freed from the restrictions imposed by conventions of realism, some fictional genres enable the imagination to range widely, but at the same time these genres are often linked to conservative assumptions and beliefs. Feminist writers have therefore developed discourses encoded in these genres, at the same time contributing substantially to their transformation. Cranny–Francis discusses these intitiatives through analysis of the work of James Tipree Jnr., Ursula le Guin, Anne McCaffrey, Angela Carter, Marge Piercy, Valer ie Miner, Amanda Cross and many others.
This wide–ranging and original work will be of particular interest to students and academics in media and cultural studies, women′s studies and literature and literary theory. It will also be of interest to anyone who reads modern popular fiction.
