Una L. SilberradBesprekingen

Published in 1907, about a renegade principled young lady who rejects her family's social strivings but takes on a family debt of honour. This comes from such a different time that it is occasionally hard to follow the protagonist's reasoning. However, her penetrating rejection of the social mores of the day and her courage and spirit in following the difficult path she believes to be correct are riveting.

This books contains two relatively forgotten pieces of Edwardian science fiction: Allan Reeth's Legions of the Dawn (1908) and Una L. Silberrad's The Affairs of John Bolsover (1911). They're not quite "Fictions of a Feminist Future" in a conventional sense: these aren't depictions of futures where women are equal to men. Rather, they explore the nuances of gender in a science fiction context.

Legions of the Dawn is about two men who end up following some hot chicks to their colony in Africa, only to find it is a women-ruled society, where the men are stay-at-home husbands who have been what I guess you might call "feminized." They struggle to adapt themselves to this new world, and throughout the novel we learn something interesting ideas about gender and some repellent ones about race. (Black men do not come away very well.) It's not a story of total reversal: a male alleges that a women tried to rape him (he wants to exploit the accusation for his own benefit), only to learn that part of what makes women superior to men in this society is the knowledge that men commit sexual violence and not women. Mostly it's not very good, but it is a weird snapshot of both Edwardian gender roles and what was considered subversive at the time, too.

The Affairs of John Bolsover is impossible to discuss without spoiling it, so sorry: the "John Bolsover" of the title is in fact "Jean Bolsover," a failed governess who goes into politics under the guise of a man for complicated reasons, and ends up using her keen attention to social detail to be a force for world peace. Like Legions it's not exactly good (lots of the political cases Bolsover solves are dead dull) but what a wacky, fascinating premise.

Despite the connotations of its title, The Good Comrade is not a book about communism, instead it is an excellent work about self-worth, personal honor, and social class with a healthy touch of romance. The Polkington's live life constantly on the edge of insolvency: the mother and two of her daughters want to live as they are accustomed and the father is a retired officer prone to drinking and gambling, which leaves only the middle daughter to hold things together. All she wants is to live a decent honorable life, but her family's refusal to be realistic about their situation makes it impossible. Especially once her father gambles off this quarter's check. An argument with one of his creditors leaves Julia desperate to prove her family's worth by coming up with £30 (roughly £2800 in today's money). So she decides to steal a rare daffodil bulb and joins the grower's family in the Netherlands as a companion. Naturally, she cannot bring herself to follow through with it, and a renewed acquaintance with her family's creditor leaves her feeling more awkward than ever while also offering her a way to prove her worth.

Not just a romance, but a serious look at the foibles of the middle-class values of the day (the part about the younger sister's marriage's "breaking-in" period is positively chilling). The love story is remarkably realistic and compelling, while not overwhelming Julia's overall search for self-respect and happiness. I'm surprised Persephone Books never picked this one up, as it's very much in their line. Highly recommended.