• ISBN13: 9788126916245
• Binding: Hardcover
• Subject: English Literature
• Publisher: Atlantic Publishers & Distributors (P) Ltd
• Publisher Imprint: Atlantic
• Publication Date: June 22, 2011
• Pages: 300
• Original Price: INR 695.0
• Language: English
• Edition: N/A
• Item Weight: 360 grams
• BISAC Subject(s): General

The world body of literature in English, during the last few centuries, has been immensely enriched by women writers with their sharp perception and profound insight into hitherto unexplored areas of human experience on the one hand, and technical innovations—often daring and always refreshing—on the other. The twenty essays included in the present volume introduce us to a wide spectrum of writers and their specific historical-cultural contexts. Thus, we have discussion on eminent writers like Toni Morrison from black America as well as Margaret Atwood from Canada, who have made their unmistakable mark in their respective milieu as well as in the global arena today. In addition, we have diasporic and emigre writers—renowned and established authors of an earlier generation as well as younger writers of a more recent crop—like Bharati Mukherjee, Nayantara Sahgal, Shobhaa De and Ruth Jhabvala on the one hand and Jhumpa Lahiri, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni and Kiran Desai on the other. As usual, Indian writers have attracted considerable critical attention, and a host of them—from Toru Dutt to Kamala Markandya, Anita Desai to Kamala Das, Shashi Deshpande to Manju Kapur, and even a recent entrant like Sonia Faleiro—have been taken up by the present writers from various interesting and relevant critical and theoretical perspectives. In addition to this, the volume includes a broad survey of Indian women poets in English and also an examination of ‘feminism’ in the context of newly emerging social and ethical values vis-a-vis the woman. Since most of these authors are prescribed in the English syllabi in the universities of India, both the teachers and the students will find them extremely useful, and the general readers who are interested in literature in English and/or women writers will also find them intellectually stimulating.

Mohit K. Ray, a full Professor since 1982, and recently retired, is one of the seniormost professors in the country. He has five books and a large number of research papers published in scholarly journals in India and abroad, which reflect his wide range of scholarship. Professor Ray has attended and chaired sessions as an invited participant in many international conferences, seminars, and colloquia held in different parts of the globe. He has edited several anthologies of critical studies. At present, he is the Chief Editor of Atlantic Publishers & Distributors (P) Ltd. Books authored by Mohit K. Ray include T.S. Eliot: Search for a Critical Credo (1978); Bhasa Bijnaner Godar Katha (in Bengali, 1988); Studies in Literary Criticism (2001); and Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness: A Critical Study (2005). He edits The Atlantic Critical Review, an international quarterly of global circulation. Rama Kundu is a full Professor of English. She has been teaching in the Postgraduate Department of English, Burdwan University, West Bengal, since 1976. Besides being the author of ten books, she has edited several books. She is the Editor of The Atlantic Literary Review, an internationally acclaimed journal of great repute. She has to her credit a large number of research papers published in scholarly journals and anthologies in India and abroad. Books authored by Dr. Kundu include Vision and Design in Hardy’s Fiction (1984); Wrestling with God: Studies in English Devotional Poetry (1996); Anita Desai’s Fire on the Mountain (2005); New Perspectives on British Authors: From William Shakespeare to Graham Greene (2006); Ānandamath O Sāmpradāiktā (on Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay, 1987); and The Unfamiliar Hardy: A New Look (2010).

• General Preface
• Preface
• 1. Telescoping of the Magical Third-Eye in Toni Morrison, Bharati Mukherjee and Margaret Atwood–J. Samuel Kirubahar, A. Mohan Kumar, A.K. Muthusamy and Devi Chandra
• 2. Uniforms and Uniformity: The Regimented World of Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale–Sumita Nasker
• 3. Reflections on Torulata Dutt and the Contemporary Literary Scene–Sumita Nasker
• 4. Ruth P. Jhabvala’s The Householder: A Journey from Immaturity to Maturity–Deepti Vanjare and Ashish Gupta
• 5. Longing for Connectedness in Ruth Prawer Jhabvala’s Heat and Dust, Nayantara Sahgal’s Plans for Departure, and Bharati Mukherjee’s The Holder of the World–J. Samuel Kirubahar
• 6. Foster Child and the Family in the Novels of Kamala Markandaya–Mona Sharma
• 7. One Mad Bid for Freedom: The Erotic Corpus of Kamala Das–J. Samuel Kirubahar, S. Kanakaraj, A. Mohan Kumar and Devi Chandra
• 8. Representation of Memory and the Autobiographical Mode: A Study of Kamala Das’s A Childhood in Malabar–Santosh Kumar Padhy
• 9. Women in Isolation: An Existential Study of Anita Desai’s Cry, the Peacock, Voices in the City and Fire on the Mountain–Sujata Rana
• 10. Uma’s Plight in Fasting, Feasting: A Study in Alienation–Sadhana Agrawal
• 11. Existential Strands in the Fabric of Anita Desai’s The Zig-Zag Way–Anita Sharma
• 12. Marriage, Sex and Violence: A Psychograph of the Married Women in Anita Desai’s Cry, the Peacock, Bharati Mukherjee’s Wife and Jasmine and Manju Kapur’s A Married Woman–J. Samuel Kirubahar
• 13. The Dark Holds No Terrors: A Psychological Interpretation–M.C. Ramnavmiwale
• 14. The Novels of Shobha De: A Speculum of Feminine Diallage–Anita Myles
• 15. Women at the Crossroads: Reassessing Shobha De’s Snapshots and Second Thoughts–Anita Myles
• 16. In-Between Cultures: An Exploration through the Works of Bharati Mukherjee, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni and Jhumpa Lahiri–Praggya Singh and Deepika Gandhi
• 17. The Inheritance of Loss: A Portrayal of Myriad Shades of Life–Meenakshi Raman
• 18. Labyrinth of Inner Turmoil in Sonia Faleiro’s The Girl–Devasree Chakravarti and G.A. Ghanshyam
• 19. Mapping Out New Terrains: A Look at Some Recent Indian-English Poets–Ram Sharma
• 20. Feminism and the Emerging Dynamic Human Values: A Perspective–V. Ramesh
• Contributors