Novels by Women in Other Words Quiz

Answer: Little Men

Louisa May Alcott published "Little Men" in 1871. It had a longer title, "Little Men, or Life at Plumfield with Jo's Boys." Many readers of the times wanted to know what happened to Jo from "Little Women." There is a third novel which develops Jo's life more, the 1886 book, "Jo's Boys, and How They Turned Out: A Sequel to 'Little Men.'"

Answer: The Song of the Lark

Willa Cather published this novel in 1915. This melodic haunting novel is what is called a Künstlerroman or novel of the development of the artist, in this case, Thea Kronburg. This is the novel in which Cather introduces a quiet eloquence, to emphasize what she called, "the thing not said," a thing which very much needs to be said.

It is significant that the great artist is a woman, a woman who is careful about maintaining her commitment to her art, in spite of romantic conflicts which could have gotten in her way. Cather's "The Professor's House," along with "Death Comes for the Archbishop," evidence, many believe, Cather's finest writing.

Answer: The Custom of the Country

In 1913 Edith Wharton published this satirical novel on American mores and manners, particularly as they affected midwesterners. The names of characters plentifully show the spark of Wharton's ironic impetus: Undine Spragg, Ralph Marvell, Elmer Mofatt. The novel brilliantly reveals the limitations of members of the nouveau riche or the new rich.

Answer: Giant

Edna Ferber's novel "Giant" appeared in 1952. Her far-reaching novel was sometimes criticized for an effusive prose style or its treatment of the oil industry in Texas. In 1956, the film version appeared. This film, with Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor and James Dean, was the last one in which James Dean appeared before his death in 1955.

Answer: Three Lives

Gertrude Stein, the famous expatriate writer, who is responsible for the term The Lost Generation, published 'Three Lives' in 1909. This novel deals very experimentally with three women's lives in Bridgeport. Stein said that she wanted to bring alive what she called "the continuous present."

Answer: Tender Buttons

Gertrude Stein published this in 1914. Most conclude that she is hoping to move away from the meaning of words, to emphasize their sounds and rhythms. For example, in the section 'Objects' in "Tender Buttons," she writes: "Dirt and not copper makes a color darker. It makes the shape so heavy and makes no melody harder."

Answer: The Yellow Wallpaper

Charlotte Perkins Gilman's impressive 1892 novella "The Yellow Wallpaper" is simultaneously an account of her own treatment during what was then called the "rest cure" and a condemnation of that very procedure. It is also an example of the Modernist turn to introspection in fiction.

Answer: Their Eyes Were Watching God

Zora Neale Hurston is a major African American figure in the Harlem Renaissance.
Anthropologist and writer Hurston's amazing novel, 1937 "Their Eyes Were Watching God," which presents the story of Janey in her marriages and the hurricane, has been called one of the most impressive novels of the twentieth century. It becomes even more special because of the exquisite language.

Answer: The Joy Luck Club

Amy Tan's 1989 "The Joy Luck Club" is a novel structured somewhat like a mahjong game. Looking at Chinese-Americans in San Francisco, California, it productively focuses on relations among women and their prolific, life-changing stories.

Answer: Tell Me A Riddle

Tillie Olsen's 1961 classic openly explores marriage, family and aging from a working class perspective.