A review by gwalt118
The Beth Book by Sarah Grand

I was required to read this book for a graduate-level gender and literature course. I may be forever indebted to my professor for finding my new favorite character in Victorian literature -- Beth. Watching her grow and evolve as a character and as a woman was fascinating for me. I enjoyed seeing her negotiate relationships with various people - her mother, Dan, Arthur, various other women - in spite of and through society's conventional class and gender roles. One can certainly learn much about these standard conventions and how they were being questioned and changing during the fin de siècle through this text. I would highly recommend it if that time period of literature and concepts of gender roles are of interest to you.