Other editions of book Herland

A must-read for fans of utopian science fiction, Herland describes a society comprised solely of female inhabitants. The residents of the isolated community have perfected a form of asexual reproduction, and have constructed a society that is free from all of the ills associated with Western culture, including war, strife, conflict, cruelty, and even pollution. Written by renowned feminist thinker Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Herland is a thought-provoking and entertaining novel that will engage male and female readers alike.

Herland is a utopian novel from 1915, written by feminist Charlotte Perkins Gilman. The book describes an isolated society composed entirely of women, who reproduce via parthenogenesis (asexual reproduction). The result is an ideal social order: free of war, conflict, and domination. It was first published in monthly installments as a serial in 1915 in The Forerunner, a magazine edited and written by Gilman between 1909 and 1916. It was not published in book form until 1979. The story is told from the perspective of Vandyck "Van" Jennings, a sociology student who, along with two friends, Terry O. Nicholson, and Jeff Margrave, forms an expedition party to explore an area of uncharted land rumored to be home to a society consisting entirely of women. The three friends do not entirely believe the rumors because they are unable to think of a way how human reproduction could occur without males. When the explorers reach their destination, they are surrounded by a large group of women who march them towards a building – their prison from that point on. They are given comfortable living accommodations, clean clothes, and food. The women assign each man a tutor who teaches the men their language. The women themselves appear intelligent and astute, unafraid and patient, with a notable lack of temper and seemingly limitless understanding of their captives. The women are keen to learn about the world outside and question the men eagerly about all manner of things.

A must-read for fans of utopian science fiction, Herland describes a society comprised solely of female inhabitants. The residents of the isolated community have perfected a form of asexual reproduction, and have constructed a society that is free from all of the ills associated with Western culture, including war, strife, conflict, cruelty, and even pollution. Written by renowned feminist thinker Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Herland is a thought-provoking and entertaining novel that will engage male and female readers alike.

Herland is a utopian novel from 1915, written by feminist Charlotte Perkins Gilman. The book describes an isolated society composed entirely of women, who reproduce via parthenogenesis (asexual reproduction). The result is an ideal social order: free of war, conflict, and domination. It was first published in monthly installments as a serial in 1915 in The Forerunner, a magazine edited and written by Gilman between 1909 and 1916, with its sequel, With Her in Ourland beginning immediately thereafter in the January 1916 issue. The book is often considered to be the middle volume in her utopian trilogy; preceded by Moving the Mountain (1911), and followed by, With Her in Ourland (1916). It was not published in book form until 1979.

On the eve of World War I, an all-female society is discovered somewhere in the distant reaches of the earth by three male explorers who are now forced to re-examine their assumptions about women’s roles in society.“Herland is utopia with a smile, a gently, witty version of what women can be. As fascinating to women for what it omits entirely as for what it discovers and invents for us, it is a fast and invigorating read. Herland’s real power now, as when it was published over sixty years ago, lies in its openness to what can still happen to us. Probably the most exciting portrayal is the strength of motherhood divorced from the nuclear family.” —Marge Piercy“Cheers to Ann Lane for rescuing this delightful fantasy from obscurity. Gilman not only presents a charming/rational vision, but she exposes the absurdities of sexism in a way that still stings after half a century. If the utopias a society produced are any index of its ills, then Herland nails our own.” —Alix Kates Shulman“Herland is pure delight. Those who know “The Yellow Wallpaper” but little else of Gilman’s life will be thrilled. What a serendipitous discovery!” —Susan Brownmiller“It’s delightful to have Herland out in book form at last (after a sixty-five-year wait)! It’s a lovely, funny book. There is a wonderful flavor of Golden Age science fiction, which adds to the fun and doesn’t in the least spoil the argument, which is still fresh and very much of today.” —Joanna Russ “Herland has always been the most endearing of utopian fantasies. It has also been, like that exploration of equality between the sexes that it projected, unavailable to the general reader. It is a joy to have it now in print. Generations of young women and men will be happier for the reading—and perhaps acting out—of some of its scenes.” —Eve Merriam“An astonishingly readable proto-Ectopian novel, presaging themes of resurgent matriarchy that are getting much attention these days—a good-humored and thought-provoking look at what a literally Amazonian society might be like if no members of ‘the violent sex’ had been around for 2,000 years.” —Ernest Callenbach“In Herland, Charlotte Perkins Gilman leaves the brooding spirit of “The Yellow Wallpaper” behind and gives us a robust vision of a feminist utopia—merrily exposing and exploding the conventions of patriarchy all along the way.” —Pamela Daniels

This is written from memory, unfortunately. If I could have brought with me the material I so carefully prepared, this would be a very different story. Whole books full of notes, carefully copied records, firsthand descriptions, and the pictures--that’s the worst loss. We had some bird’s-eyes of the cities and parks; a lot of lovely views of streets, of buildings, outside and in, and some of those gorgeous gardens, and, most important of all, of the women themselves. Nobody will ever believe how they looked. Descriptions aren’t any good when it comes to women, and I never was good at descriptions anyhow. But it’s got to be done somehow; the rest of the world needs to know about that country. I haven’t said where it was for fear some self-appointed missionaries, or traders, or land-greedy expansionists, will take it upon themselves to push in. They will not be wanted, I can tell them that, and will fare worse than we did if they do find it. It began this way. There were three of us, classmates and friends--Terry O. Nicholson (we used to call him the Old Nick, with good reason), Jeff Margrave, and I, Vandyck Jennings. We had known each other years and years, and in spite of our differences we had a good deal in common. All of us were interested in science. Terry was rich enough to do as he pleased. His great aim was exploration. He used to make all kinds of a row because there was nothing left to explore now, only patchwork and filling in, he said. He filled in well enough--he had a lot of talents--great on mechanics and electricity. Had all kinds of boats and motorcars, and was one of the best of our airmen.

A must-read for fans of utopian science fiction, Herland describes a society comprised solely of female inhabitants. The residents of the isolated community have perfected a form of asexual reproduction, and have constructed a society that is free from all of the ills associated with Western culture, including war, strife, conflict, cruelty, and even pollution. Written by renowned feminist thinker Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Herland is a thought-provoking and entertaining novel that will engage male and female readers alike.

A prominent turn-of-the-century social critic and lecturer, Charlotte Perkins Gilman is perhaps best known for her short story "The Yellow Wallpaper," a chilling study of a woman's descent into insanity, and Women and Economics, a classic of feminist theory that analyzes the destructive effects of women's economic reliance on men. In Herland, a vision of a feminist utopia, Gilman employs humor to engaging effect in a story about three male explorers who stumble upon an all-female society isolated somewhere in South America. Noting the advanced state of the civilization they've encountered, the visitors set out to find some males, assuming that since the country is so civilized, "there must be men." A delightful fantasy, the story enables Gilman to articulate her then-unconventional views of male-female roles and capabilities, motherhood, individuality, privacy, the sense of community, sexuality, and many other topics.