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This book explores the way older women are represented in society. Through close readings of novels by major 20th century novelists, compared with the more dominant representations of female ageing to be found in popular culture it suggests that they offer a feminist understanding of the ´invisible´ woman sometimes lacking in feminism itself.

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Contents List of Illustrations Acknowledgements Introduction PART I: BECOMING VISIBLE Crones, Viragoes or Wise Women? Discourses of Female Ageing 1850-1900 Spinsters, Widows and Mothers: Fictional Responses The Demented Other PART II: THE 1960s AND AFTER Second-wave Feminism: Sisterhood and ´My Generation´´If the Old Could´: Bridging the Generation Gap Autobiographical Fictions of Female Ageing PART III: The 1990s Discourses of Female Ageing at the Fin-de-siècle The Sexual Politics of Ageing Conclusion: Shaking A Leg At Age: Angela Carter, Wise Children Notes Bibliography Index

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JEANNETTE KING is Emeritus Professor in English at the University of Aberdeen, UK. Having taught part-time for many years for the Open University while bringing up her children, she moved into Further Education before becoming a Lecturer in Women´s Studies in the Department of English at Aberdee in 1995 where she taught until her retirement.

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