The Torontonians : a novel / by Phyllis Brett Young.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Young, Phyllis Brett.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Feminism--Fiction.

Feminism.

Toronto (Ont.)--Fiction.

Toronto (Ont.).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (354 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Montreal : McGill-Queen's University Press, [2007]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

The arrival, one sunny morning, of pale green wall-to-wall carpeting for the living room is the crowning jewel in Karen Whitney's long-anticipated transformation of her house into a beautiful home, renovated to the exacting standards of her own impeccable taste. The banal finality of this event triggers an introspective voyage through the events of her life and how she became who she is: wife of business executive Rick, citizen of the suburb of Rowanwood, mother to two accomplished daughters in university. Before Betty Friedan coined the term feminine mystique, The Torontonians told a classic feminist story of suburban ennui and existential self-discovery, tracing a detailed portrait of femininity in the 1950s through the eyes of its perceptive and thoughtful heroine. The book is also a unique contemporary meditation on community and social ties from a time when Canada's major cities were just beginning to spread out into suburban sprawl.

Contents:

Front Matter

Contents

Foreword

About the Novel

Introduction

Author’s Note

The exact size and shape and colour

Nothing serious, I hope?

Were you happy in that place ?

A pop-up toaster would be quite unsuitable

There’s nothing like a buckwheat lawn

Right in the middle of Loblaw’s

Everything was very personal in those days

Don’t get so excited, darling

Neither here nor there

Your mother wouldn’t mind, would she ?

Personally, I recommend the gin

Just a friendly cook-out

Nothing definitive ever happens in Geneva

They’re very informal at the palace

Only a routine check-up

It could have been a whole lot worse

And how do you like our little town?

A once smooth, grey cube

I’m sure you’ll understand

Good-bye in the afternoon

You never get something for nothing

People, Places, and Things

Notes:

Includes a new foreword and introduction to the 1960 ed.

Includes bibliographical references (p. xxix-xxxi).

ISBN:

9786612866159

9780773578852

0773578854

9781282866157

128286615X

9780773575684

0773575685

OCLC:

607934110