A Sense of Place: London in contemporary women's writing

Abstract

Traditional literary images of London posit a male space, yet the city also allows women to step beyond the gendered norms of their times. For contemporary women writers, London typography becomes a backdrop on to which they project their investigations of female creativity, identity and connection. The work of Buchi Emecheta, Beryl Gilroy, Gilda O'Neill and Sarah Waters shows that urban space is not only gendered, but that it is also racialised and sexualised and that class differentiation underscores the urban experience. For these authors, exploring different parts of the city becomes a metaphor for trying on multiple selves, and London comes to represent freedom and possibility despite the obstacles.