An unprecedented literary landmark: the first comprehensive history of American women writers from 1650 to the present.

In a narrative of immense scope and fascination, here are more than 250 female writers, including the famous-Harriet Beecher Stowe, Dorothy Parker, Flannery O'Connor, and Toni Morrison, among others-and the little known, from the early American bestselling novelist Catherine Sedgwick to the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Susan Glaspell. Showalter integrates women’s contributions into our nation’s literary heritage with brilliance and flair, making the case for the unfairly overlooked and putting the overrated firmly in their place.