Sex, love, and letters : writing Simone de Beauvoir / Judith G. Coffin.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Coffin, Judith G., 1952- author.

Series:

Cornell scholarship online.

Cornell scholarship online

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Authors, French--20th century--Correspondence.

Authors, French.

Authors and readers--France--History--20th century.

Authors and readers.

Beauvoir, Simone de, 1908-1986--Correspondence.

Beauvoir, Simone de.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xiv, 310 pages)

Place of Publication:

Ithaca : Cornell University Press, 2021.

Summary:

When this work's author discovered a virtually unexplored treasure trove of letters to Simone de Beauvoir from Beauvoir's international readers, it inspired the author to explore the intimate bond between the famed author and her reading public. This correspondence, at the heart of the book, immerses us in the tumultuous decades from the late 1940s to the 1970s - from the painful aftermath of World War II to the horror and shame of French colonial brutality in Algeria and through the dilemmas and exhilarations of the early gay liberation and feminist movements. The letters provide a glimpse into the power of reading and the power of readers to seduce their favorite authors.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Acknowledgments

A Note on Translations and Abbreviations

Introduction

1. The Intimate Life of the Nation: Reading The Second Sex in 1949

2. Beauvoir, Kinsey, and Midcentury Sex

3. Readers and Writers

4. The Algerian War and the Scandal of Torture

5. Shame as Political Feeling

6. Second Takes on The Second Sex

7. Couple Troubles

8. Sexual Politics and Feminism

Conclusion

Notes

Archival Sources

Index

Notes:

Description based on print version record.

Previously issued in print: 2020.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781501750557

1501750550

OCLC:

1141034875