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Scribbling Women
In 1855, Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote to his publisher, complaining about the irritating fad of “scribbling women.” Whether they were written by professionals, by women who simply wanted to connect with others, or by those who wanted to leave a record of their lives, those “scribbles” are fascinating, informative, and instructive.
Margaret Catchpole was a transported prisoner whose eleven letters provide the earliest record of white settlement in Australia. Writing hundreds of years later, Aboriginal writer Doris Pilkington-Garimara wrote a novel about another kind of exile in Australia. Young Isabella Beeton, one of twenty-one children and herself the mother of four, managed to write a groundbreaking cookbook before she died at the age of twenty-eight. World traveler and journalist Nelly Bly used her writing to expose terrible injustices. Sei Shonagan has left us poetry and journal entries that provide a vivid look at the pampered life and intrigues in Japan’s imperial court. Ada Blackjack, sole survivor of a disastrous scientific expedition in the Arctic, fought isolation and fear with her precious Eversharp pencil. Dr. Dang Thuy Tram’s diary, written in a field hospital in the steaming North Vietnamese jungle while American bombs fell, is a heartbreaking record of fear and hope.
Many of the women in “Scribbling Women” had eventful lives. They became friends with cannibals, delivered babies, stole horses, and sailed on whaling ships. Others lived quietly, close to home. But each of them has illuminated the world through her words.
A note from the OOPS! On page 197, the credit for the Portrait of Harriet Jacobs on page 43 should courtesy of Library of Congress, not Jean Fagan Yellin. On page 197, the credit for the portrait of Isabella Beeton on page 61 should National Portrait Gallery, London. On page 198, the credit for page 147 should be Dang Kim Tram, not Kim Tram Dang. We are very sorry about the mix-up in the Photo Credits, they will be updated on any new editions or reprints.
Margaret Catchpole was a transported prisoner whose eleven letters provide the earliest record of white settlement in Australia. Writing hundreds of years later, Aboriginal writer Doris Pilkington-Garimara wrote a novel about another kind of exile in Australia. Young Isabella Beeton, one of twenty-one children and herself the mother of four, managed to write a groundbreaking cookbook before she died at the age of twenty-eight. World traveler and journalist Nelly Bly used her writing to expose terrible injustices. Sei Shonagan has left us poetry and journal entries that provide a vivid look at the pampered life and intrigues in Japan’s imperial court. Ada Blackjack, sole survivor of a disastrous scientific expedition in the Arctic, fought isolation and fear with her precious Eversharp pencil. Dr. Dang Thuy Tram’s diary, written in a field hospital in the steaming North Vietnamese jungle while American bombs fell, is a heartbreaking record of fear and hope.
Many of the women in “Scribbling Women” had eventful lives. They became friends with cannibals, delivered babies, stole horses, and sailed on whaling ships. Others lived quietly, close to home. But each of them has illuminated the world through her words.
A note from the OOPS! On page 197, the credit for the Portrait of Harriet Jacobs on page 43 should courtesy of Library of Congress, not Jean Fagan Yellin. On page 197, the credit for the portrait of Isabella Beeton on page 61 should National Portrait Gallery, London. On page 198, the credit for page 147 should be Dang Kim Tram, not Kim Tram Dang. We are very sorry about the mix-up in the Photo Credits, they will be updated on any new editions or reprints.
208 pages, Hardcover
First published March 8, 2011
5 people are currently reading
560 people want to read
About the author
Marthe Jocelyn
57 books183 followersCanadian born
22 books published for young readers"
22 books published for young readers"
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews
December 24, 2014
The only thing the people profiled in this book have in common is that they're all women who wrote something that has impact beyond their own lives. Perhaps a thin thread to hang an entire book on, but a worthy one. I'd bet that many readers will come in knowing a little bit about two, maybe three of these women, and they all had lives worth knowing about. Not every woman was equally interesting to me, but I am glad that I read about all of them.
February 15, 2019
The premise of the title in which Hawthorne said that "scribbling women" were nusainces is fascinating enough, but to build an entire book-- short story collection really-- that is a biography of sorts about these scribbling women and includes their scribbles is endlessly uplifting, fascinating, beautiful, powerful, amazing. All of it.
Globally, we know more about specific time periods, areas of the world, or experiences simply because women decided to write it down. Ada Blackjack up in the Arctic, Sei Shonagon as a wife in a Japanese court discussing poetry and gossip, Isabella Beeton that is one of the first to collect and organize recipes in the form we see today (ingredients at the top and instructions on the bottom). A slave who was taught to read and write so she can capture some of her experiences including the sickening practice of the white owners preying on the beautiful black women running their homes. And women talking about hanging around the African bush or being in exile as a convict from England sent to Australia.
The captivating way that Jocelyn strung the stories together with the short paragraph in between women as well as an italicized version of what they were known for leading in to their personal chapter was seamless. The front cover font and title are inherently fascinating and lovely.
It's just a great concept to build a collection around. I'd totally read more!
Globally, we know more about specific time periods, areas of the world, or experiences simply because women decided to write it down. Ada Blackjack up in the Arctic, Sei Shonagon as a wife in a Japanese court discussing poetry and gossip, Isabella Beeton that is one of the first to collect and organize recipes in the form we see today (ingredients at the top and instructions on the bottom). A slave who was taught to read and write so she can capture some of her experiences including the sickening practice of the white owners preying on the beautiful black women running their homes. And women talking about hanging around the African bush or being in exile as a convict from England sent to Australia.
The captivating way that Jocelyn strung the stories together with the short paragraph in between women as well as an italicized version of what they were known for leading in to their personal chapter was seamless. The front cover font and title are inherently fascinating and lovely.
It's just a great concept to build a collection around. I'd totally read more!
August 1, 2019
A great blend of biography and journal entry excerpts from historical women I'd never heard of before. I love that minor details mentioned in the book lead me on Google tangents. The history of matches and mechanical pencils, for example.
Best opening line: "Ada Blackjack was more afraid of polar bears than anything else -- including being alone on a remote island north of Russian Siberia with a dead man in the next tent."
This is a very tasty book according to my pet rats, Cacher & Dewey. They ate more of the dust jacket and binding of this book than any other.
Best opening line: "Ada Blackjack was more afraid of polar bears than anything else -- including being alone on a remote island north of Russian Siberia with a dead man in the next tent."
This is a very tasty book according to my pet rats, Cacher & Dewey. They ate more of the dust jacket and binding of this book than any other.
September 27, 2022
This was a fascinating read. I learned about 11 women from different centuries, continents, and creeds. I doubt I would have ever heard their stories without this thoughtful compilation. The only thing they had in common was that they wrote things down. Some in journals, some in newspapers, others in books. I took my time reading this book, as I found myself pondering each woman’s life and story. I’m so glad I picked this up from the library. It’s a gem!
July 29, 2016
I was surprised by how engrossing I found this book, but I suppose I shouldn't have been shocked. Scribbling Women presents a collection of biographies about individual women who all contributed in major ways to the written record. These women are a diverse group who all felt that need to tell their own stories. Some names may sound familiar like Nellie Bly, but for me almost all of the women featured were new introductions to my lexicon of badass ladies.
Many of the women wrote autobiographically about their personal life experiences in ways that I found fascinating. When I think of historic female authors many of the names that come to mind are the popular fiction writers that we all know and love, but Scribbling Women strives to increase that scope to include a broader selection of writers. This book explores the woman behind the words and focuses on their incredible lives.
I also enjoyed how the book was broken up into short chapters with one chapter per writer. It is very easy to read in short bursts. I ended up reading it while riding the bus to and from work and still found it very engaging. The writing has good flow and the factual information came across as being incredibly well researched. The writing also feels purposely young adult friendly. Scribbling Women strikes me as something that would be perfect for a book report or as an essay citation.
Many of the women wrote autobiographically about their personal life experiences in ways that I found fascinating. When I think of historic female authors many of the names that come to mind are the popular fiction writers that we all know and love, but Scribbling Women strives to increase that scope to include a broader selection of writers. This book explores the woman behind the words and focuses on their incredible lives.
I also enjoyed how the book was broken up into short chapters with one chapter per writer. It is very easy to read in short bursts. I ended up reading it while riding the bus to and from work and still found it very engaging. The writing has good flow and the factual information came across as being incredibly well researched. The writing also feels purposely young adult friendly. Scribbling Women strikes me as something that would be perfect for a book report or as an essay citation.
July 16, 2011
Remarkable collection, well researched. Extraordinary that writings by the women featured in the book survived; some serendipitously, some purposefully. And much praise to Jocelyn for digging to find the women's stories and bringing them to our attention. We've talked for years about how women's stories are buried, ignored; the voices of female experience stilled. And here are a heartload of stories Jocelyn shares. The unbelievably terrible experience of the Aboriginal writer of The Rabbit Proof Fence. Margaret Catchpoole, an Australia-transported horse thief who wrote to the woman from whom she stole the horse! Ada Blackjack, stranded in the Arctic alone with a dead man and a gun she doesn't quite know how to use. Dr. Dang Thuy Tram's diary, rescued by an American serviceman, when another of the same probably ended her life. Harriet Jacobs, in whose writing we read firsthand experience of the horrific life of a female slave. And we're reminded how strong these women were; how much there is to admire in our gender, what tragedies we can survive, and what humility, faith and patience can accomplish.
September 19, 2015
A lovely beautiful book! Once I started reading it I couldn't put it down. After I'd finished it I was sad there wasn't more. But reading these brief biographies only made me want to read more about these amazing women. Marthe Jocelyn is a wonderful writer, I've read her other book Mable Riley and will definitely be reading more.
November 7, 2011
I loved reading about all these women; some I had never heard of. It was fascinating to read about their lives. I was disappointed that the book was more a narrative about what the women wrote, rather than a compilation of their own words. Otherwise, I would have given another star.
October 7, 2014
Waah, I used to own this but I made the stupid mistake of lending it to someone who's never going to return it :(
I won a copy of this book through First Reads, and I am so very glad because otherwise, I may never have had the absolute pleasure of reading it! I have read one other book by Marthe Jocelyn - the wonderful Mable Riley - and it comes as no surprise now, having read Scribbling Women and thus knowing what interests this author, that she was able to come up with such a brilliant character as "Mrs." Rattle - one of my literary favourites, up there with Elphaba and Minty. I do need a shelf for "strong women"... (eta: and done.)
In essence, Scribbling Women is comprised of eleven brief biographies of eleven women who "scribbled"; details of their lives interspersed with their own words, telling us about what they wrote, and why/where/how/when they wrote it. I think that the best way to tackle a proper review (because I could simply just go "OMG IT'S AWESOME READ IT!!!1") will be to use my "short story method" of simply rating each chapter individually (out of five).
1. Sei Shonagon's tale makes for a very brief first chapter, but it's still quite a fascinating read. Sei was a lady-in-waiting in 10th century Japan, who kept something of a diary: comprised of lists, general observations, and poetry. She could be witty and snappy, not what I expected from the time period!
2. Margaret Catchpole stole a horse in the late 1700s, and rode to London, where she was captured and sent to jail. Her eventual punishment was transportation to Australia. (By the way, the author mentions that nowadays, this journey from London to Sydney takes "seventeen hours by plane"... I wish it was that short!) She wrote letters back to England, including to her former employer from whom she had stolen the horse, and had to wait a year between replies- if any came at all! I found this chapter quite a brilliant account of life in NSW at the turn of the 19th century.
3. Mary Hayden Russell's chapter was even more fascinating. She was a passenger on her husband's whaling ship in 1823, and wrote a very detailed account of her time at sea in a letter to her grown-up daughter, back on shore. This one was simply amazing, I loved the detail so much.
4. Harriet Ann Jacobs was a slave who had been taught how to read and write, even though incredibly, this was illegal. She later was to write a book detailing her life as a slave and then a fugitive - she ran away and spent seven years hiding in the crawl space under the roof of her grandmother's shed. It sounds horrifying and compelling, yet something about this chapter and Hatty just didn't interest me as much as the others, and I rate based on my own enjoyment.
5. Isabella Beeton, aka. the Mrs. Beeton! I previously knew nothing about her other than her name, and that she had written a cookbook. Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management was so much more than a cookbook, though - comprising of tips for the housewife regarding every corner of running a house. It was first published in 1861, but 'Bella' had been published herself before that - first writing monthly columns, and then supplements, before she compiled her book. The other amazing thing was how young she was: sadly, she was only 28 when she died. I'd always imagined Mrs. Beeton to be a woman in her 50s or 60s! I loved this chapter.
6. Mary Kingsley sailed to Africa rather spontaneously after her parents' deaths, and became quite the intrepid explorer and observer. (By the way, page 81 in this chapter did my head in - I'm not sure if I was just constantly reading something incorrectly, or if there was some typographical error regarding several dates mentioned.) She wrote books on Africa and really was quite a character - fearless and bold, yet oddly, opposed to women's suffrage! Huh.
7. Nellie Bly was HARDCORE. She's known as the "first undercover reporter" and seriously, the stuff she did was crazy! For instance, she pretended to be insane so that she could get committed to a mental institution, so that she could expose what really went on inside those walls. Nellie reminded me a little of the heroine from Newsgirl with her bold feminism. At 18, she wrote a protest letter to the editor of a newspaper who invited her down to the office, and then was "flabbergasted" when a girl walked in! Flabbergasted, but impressed - he decided to give her a shot, and she eventually became one of their star reporters, known for going undercover a lot, and for pushing new boundaries. She went around the world in 72 days, to prove that she could beat Jules Verne's 80! WIN. :D
8. Daisy Ashford was another I was not terribly interested in. One of her childhood stories that her mother had kept resurfaced later in her life, she sent it to an ill friend to amuse her, said friend passed it along and eventually it made its way to a publishing company. This chapter was also very short.
9. Ada Blackjack was the sole woman on an expedition to the Arctic in the early 1920s, brought along because she was a skilled seamstress. However the boat that was meant to come for the party couldn't get through the ice, leaving them stranded there for (at least) another year. When one man fell ill, the rest left him and Ada behind in order to find help... they were never heard of again. With the other man too ill to do much, Ada had to really learn to fend for herself, and by the time the boat made it through the next year, she and their mascot kitten, Vic, were the only survivors. During her time she kept a brief but terrifyingly fascinating journal.
10. Dr. Dang Thuy Tram was a military doctor in Vietnam, at the time of the Vietnam war, who also kept a journal of her experiences. An interesting chapter, I would have loved for it to have been a bit longer though!
11. Doris Pilkington Garimara, the only of the eleven still living, is actually the author of Rabbit-Proof Fence, so I knew part of her story already. The three girls who made that achingly long journey home through the outback were Doris' mother and her two aunts. Sadly, the story did not end with them - Doris was also taken from her mother at a young age. The stolen generation is a sad part of Australia's history, though it gives one heart to read of officials at the time who did not agree with the taking of the children.
All in all, an easy five star book. I had planned to just read a couple of chapters before dinner; in the end I couldn't put the book down until I was done! Terrific reading, whether or not you too are a scribbler.
I won a copy of this book through First Reads, and I am so very glad because otherwise, I may never have had the absolute pleasure of reading it! I have read one other book by Marthe Jocelyn - the wonderful Mable Riley - and it comes as no surprise now, having read Scribbling Women and thus knowing what interests this author, that she was able to come up with such a brilliant character as "Mrs." Rattle - one of my literary favourites, up there with Elphaba and Minty. I do need a shelf for "strong women"... (eta: and done.)
In essence, Scribbling Women is comprised of eleven brief biographies of eleven women who "scribbled"; details of their lives interspersed with their own words, telling us about what they wrote, and why/where/how/when they wrote it. I think that the best way to tackle a proper review (because I could simply just go "OMG IT'S AWESOME READ IT!!!1") will be to use my "short story method" of simply rating each chapter individually (out of five).
1. Sei Shonagon's tale makes for a very brief first chapter, but it's still quite a fascinating read. Sei was a lady-in-waiting in 10th century Japan, who kept something of a diary: comprised of lists, general observations, and poetry. She could be witty and snappy, not what I expected from the time period!
2. Margaret Catchpole stole a horse in the late 1700s, and rode to London, where she was captured and sent to jail. Her eventual punishment was transportation to Australia. (By the way, the author mentions that nowadays, this journey from London to Sydney takes "seventeen hours by plane"... I wish it was that short!) She wrote letters back to England, including to her former employer from whom she had stolen the horse, and had to wait a year between replies- if any came at all! I found this chapter quite a brilliant account of life in NSW at the turn of the 19th century.
3. Mary Hayden Russell's chapter was even more fascinating. She was a passenger on her husband's whaling ship in 1823, and wrote a very detailed account of her time at sea in a letter to her grown-up daughter, back on shore. This one was simply amazing, I loved the detail so much.
4. Harriet Ann Jacobs was a slave who had been taught how to read and write, even though incredibly, this was illegal. She later was to write a book detailing her life as a slave and then a fugitive - she ran away and spent seven years hiding in the crawl space under the roof of her grandmother's shed. It sounds horrifying and compelling, yet something about this chapter and Hatty just didn't interest me as much as the others, and I rate based on my own enjoyment.
5. Isabella Beeton, aka. the Mrs. Beeton! I previously knew nothing about her other than her name, and that she had written a cookbook. Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management was so much more than a cookbook, though - comprising of tips for the housewife regarding every corner of running a house. It was first published in 1861, but 'Bella' had been published herself before that - first writing monthly columns, and then supplements, before she compiled her book. The other amazing thing was how young she was: sadly, she was only 28 when she died. I'd always imagined Mrs. Beeton to be a woman in her 50s or 60s! I loved this chapter.
6. Mary Kingsley sailed to Africa rather spontaneously after her parents' deaths, and became quite the intrepid explorer and observer. (By the way, page 81 in this chapter did my head in - I'm not sure if I was just constantly reading something incorrectly, or if there was some typographical error regarding several dates mentioned.) She wrote books on Africa and really was quite a character - fearless and bold, yet oddly, opposed to women's suffrage! Huh.
7. Nellie Bly was HARDCORE. She's known as the "first undercover reporter" and seriously, the stuff she did was crazy! For instance, she pretended to be insane so that she could get committed to a mental institution, so that she could expose what really went on inside those walls. Nellie reminded me a little of the heroine from Newsgirl with her bold feminism. At 18, she wrote a protest letter to the editor of a newspaper who invited her down to the office, and then was "flabbergasted" when a girl walked in! Flabbergasted, but impressed - he decided to give her a shot, and she eventually became one of their star reporters, known for going undercover a lot, and for pushing new boundaries. She went around the world in 72 days, to prove that she could beat Jules Verne's 80! WIN. :D
8. Daisy Ashford was another I was not terribly interested in. One of her childhood stories that her mother had kept resurfaced later in her life, she sent it to an ill friend to amuse her, said friend passed it along and eventually it made its way to a publishing company. This chapter was also very short.
9. Ada Blackjack was the sole woman on an expedition to the Arctic in the early 1920s, brought along because she was a skilled seamstress. However the boat that was meant to come for the party couldn't get through the ice, leaving them stranded there for (at least) another year. When one man fell ill, the rest left him and Ada behind in order to find help... they were never heard of again. With the other man too ill to do much, Ada had to really learn to fend for herself, and by the time the boat made it through the next year, she and their mascot kitten, Vic, were the only survivors. During her time she kept a brief but terrifyingly fascinating journal.
10. Dr. Dang Thuy Tram was a military doctor in Vietnam, at the time of the Vietnam war, who also kept a journal of her experiences. An interesting chapter, I would have loved for it to have been a bit longer though!
11. Doris Pilkington Garimara, the only of the eleven still living, is actually the author of Rabbit-Proof Fence, so I knew part of her story already. The three girls who made that achingly long journey home through the outback were Doris' mother and her two aunts. Sadly, the story did not end with them - Doris was also taken from her mother at a young age. The stolen generation is a sad part of Australia's history, though it gives one heart to read of officials at the time who did not agree with the taking of the children.
All in all, an easy five star book. I had planned to just read a couple of chapters before dinner; in the end I couldn't put the book down until I was done! Terrific reading, whether or not you too are a scribbler.
July 26, 2018
This is a decent starting point if you want to read more about women writers. I liked that it was a diverse mix, too. However, there were a few things I had a problem with...
1. I think the chapter on Sei Shonagon could have been written better.
Firstly, to say that "no one had written a book like hers before" (I'm paraphrasing here; the book is in another room) isn't exactly accurate - in the introduction to his translation of The Pillow Book, Ivan Morris says that it's possible that other men and women in the Heian era kept similar books. Secondly, it would've been nice to see a little more variety in excerpts from The Pillow Book - for instance, she wrote some beautiful entries about the Buddhist temples she visited. Thirdly, it drove me bonkers that she quoted two different translations of The Pillow Book - I read part of the Ivan Morris translation as part of a writing course I took on creative non-fiction at my local college (I then read the rest of it); the instructor recommended it over other translations because it was the most accurate.
2. While I don't think the author meant anything mean by saying Margaret Catchpole's "unschooled spelling made her letters hard to read", it irked me a little. I was technically unschooled (I call it "homeschooling" to people, because it's hard to explain unschooling sometimes), so it felt like a bit of a slight. Perhaps "limited literacy" would have been a better way of putting it.
3. There were little things that bothered me, too: calling Mary Hayden Russell "Mary" in one paragraph, then "Mrs. Russell" in another; a mention of Isabella Beeton's wedding dress but nothing about her husband's suit, etc. It feels a little counter-productive to the theme of empowering women.
4. The writing style is geared so that an eighth-grader can read it, which isn't necessarily a bad thing - I read "popular works" about science sometimes, because they're easier to understand than a textbook - but it does mean the author likes to occasionally surmise or use exclamation points. At times it felt a little "storytime"-ish.
That said, the other chapters were fantastic. I want to look for Doris Pilkington Garimara's books now. (I watched the film adaptation of Rabbit-Proof Fence a long time ago, but it's a bit fuzzy.)
1. I think the chapter on Sei Shonagon could have been written better.
Firstly, to say that "no one had written a book like hers before" (I'm paraphrasing here; the book is in another room) isn't exactly accurate - in the introduction to his translation of The Pillow Book, Ivan Morris says that it's possible that other men and women in the Heian era kept similar books. Secondly, it would've been nice to see a little more variety in excerpts from The Pillow Book - for instance, she wrote some beautiful entries about the Buddhist temples she visited. Thirdly, it drove me bonkers that she quoted two different translations of The Pillow Book - I read part of the Ivan Morris translation as part of a writing course I took on creative non-fiction at my local college (I then read the rest of it); the instructor recommended it over other translations because it was the most accurate.
2. While I don't think the author meant anything mean by saying Margaret Catchpole's "unschooled spelling made her letters hard to read", it irked me a little. I was technically unschooled (I call it "homeschooling" to people, because it's hard to explain unschooling sometimes), so it felt like a bit of a slight. Perhaps "limited literacy" would have been a better way of putting it.
3. There were little things that bothered me, too: calling Mary Hayden Russell "Mary" in one paragraph, then "Mrs. Russell" in another; a mention of Isabella Beeton's wedding dress but nothing about her husband's suit, etc. It feels a little counter-productive to the theme of empowering women.
4. The writing style is geared so that an eighth-grader can read it, which isn't necessarily a bad thing - I read "popular works" about science sometimes, because they're easier to understand than a textbook - but it does mean the author likes to occasionally surmise or use exclamation points. At times it felt a little "storytime"-ish.
That said, the other chapters were fantastic. I want to look for Doris Pilkington Garimara's books now. (I watched the film adaptation of Rabbit-Proof Fence a long time ago, but it's a bit fuzzy.)
June 18, 2024
Well written.
Fascinating women and tidbits of history.
Quite a few incredibly sad stories overall.
It's not what I expected and it made me realize how far we've come as a society (for as brave and unconventional as some of these women were, there were at least two who did not believe that women should vote 😳). I understand being a product of one's time, but... The difference between my leisure writing and some of these letters and books that were born of the sheer will to survive...
I will have to come back to writing a proper review, I am at a loss for words.
3 stars because it would have been nice to include photos of their writings or even just longer passages of their writings. Jocelyn does a wonderful job of catching us up with background information and a synopsis of the individual's whole body of work but I would have liked to get more of the voice with longer passages from each writer, not just sentences strung between Jocelyn's narration. I'm sure it was not an easy task at all, and maybe this is just not my style of book. But that's my honest take so far.
Also 3 stars because I was left sullen rather than invigorated/inspired/uplifted. But. Maybe. It's. Just. Me.
Fascinating women and tidbits of history.
Quite a few incredibly sad stories overall.
It's not what I expected and it made me realize how far we've come as a society (for as brave and unconventional as some of these women were, there were at least two who did not believe that women should vote 😳). I understand being a product of one's time, but... The difference between my leisure writing and some of these letters and books that were born of the sheer will to survive...
I will have to come back to writing a proper review, I am at a loss for words.
3 stars because it would have been nice to include photos of their writings or even just longer passages of their writings. Jocelyn does a wonderful job of catching us up with background information and a synopsis of the individual's whole body of work but I would have liked to get more of the voice with longer passages from each writer, not just sentences strung between Jocelyn's narration. I'm sure it was not an easy task at all, and maybe this is just not my style of book. But that's my honest take so far.
Also 3 stars because I was left sullen rather than invigorated/inspired/uplifted. But. Maybe. It's. Just. Me.
October 7, 2017
Wonderful collection of biographies of 11 women whose writing taught, enlightened, documented, preserved history through the ages. Some are familiar (Sei Shonagon, Harriet Jacobs, Nellie Bly) but most are unknown and it is their diaries or personal letters that shed light on events and people in history. The title is from Nathaniel Hawthorne's jab at his contemporaries in the mid-1800s (Louisa May Alcott, for one) who were able to make a living by the pen. What is amazing is their tenacity and their unique perspective on their situation (settling of Australia, US slavery, Arctic exploring, Vietnam War and many others). Lots of positive examples and messages: "I always have a comfortable feeling that nothing is impossible if one applies a certain amount of energy in the right direction." -- Nellie Bly p.108) The book is well-researched, well-written and intended for kids (I'd say 11 and up with some maturity) so it carefully handles subjects like unwed pregnancies, abuse, and discrimination. Though each account could stand separately, Jocelyn makes connections between them that are thoughtful and relevant despite the vast differences of time and culture. A great gift to empower a growing girl in your life and a fantastic read for adults. Better yet, read it together.
March 28, 2011
"Everyone has trials and sorrors, and moments of boredom or immense delight. But these scribbling women wrote it down, passed it along, told us they were here, and took the time to illuminate their worlds."
In high school I was a Nathaniel Hawthorne short story junkie. Get me started on writing, famous authors, or "real lit" and I would immediately launch into a boring soliloquy on his symbols, allegories and other obscure stuff that would make fellow high school students stop me in mid-sentence and ask: "SO....what else is going on?"
So, when one day I read a quote by Hawthorne, deriding women writers, I was crestfallen. I would later learn that many famous writers I had previously idealised, held similar contemptuous views about women and their writing abilities, or lack thereof. What's a 17 year old girl, who considered herself a book snob, to do?
(Quote: America is now wholly given over to a d****d mob of scribbling women, and I should have no chance of success while the public taste is occupied with their trash--and should be ashamed of myself if I did succeed."
I ignored women's writing. For a LONG time. It wasn't until about 5 years later, when I read Virginia Woolf's "A Room of One's Own" that I was yanked out of that little bout of insanity.
That's why when I saw Tundra Press's Scribbling Women Tour, I had to hop on that wagon. Because, too often, we women tend to minimize our mark in the world. Maybe we are living in a post-feminism world, but aside from the very few that make it to the top, many things still haven't changed for the rest of us. If you're a stay at home mom, (me included) you push writing to the back burner. More important things need to be done. What's the point of writing, anyway? You're never going to be famous, or change the world, or get read by more than your immediate circle of family and friends (for some of us, not even that). And before we know it, years have flown by and we're left with the regrets of all the sentences left unwritten.
And this isn't only applicable to stay at home moms: many working moms come straight home from a long day's work only to start their second job of cooking dinner and cleaning. When do they have a moment to themselves, much less a moment for writing?
Pick up the pen. Stop looking over your shoulder. Don't listen to men's voices, reaching over from centuries past, to scoff at you. Do it for yourself. Make time, even if it means that a couple of loads of clothes pile up, or someone has to eat cereal instead of an omelet. Or you get the occasional dirty glance for going up to your office right after dinner.
And now, enough of my rant. More about the book :)
In researching for A Home for Foundlings (a book about an institution that rescued abandoned children), Jocelyn came across letters of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, a wife of the ambassador to Turkey three hundred years before. Mrs.Montagu's letters chronicled the "first recorded instance of what we now know as clinical trials."
Jocelyn became interested in "women whose observations...had chronicled or changed the world around them, even in very small ways."
Sei Shonagon: Sei, who was born 965 CE, wrote The Pillow Book, a collection of lists, anecdotes,, poems, gossip, reminiscences, and observations of the people she encountered each day. The book consists of 320 pages, half of them lists.
Things that can't be compared:
Night and day.
Laughter and anger.
Old age and youth.
The man you love and the same man once you've lost all
feeling for him seem like two completely different people.
Things that make me happy:
I know I shouldn't think this way, and I know I'll be punished for it, but I just love it when bad things happen to people I can't stand.
Harriet Ann Jacobs: 1813-1897
Born a slave, Jacobs didn't realize it until she was six years old. After her mother and her kindly owner, Margaret Horniblow, passed away. She had been taught to read and write, a rare occurrence. When Horniblow was given to a 5 year old relative of her deceased owner, suffice it to say her life changed dramatically. She was subject to racial slurs, being verbally and physically abused, and generally dehumanized. Jacobs' account of her life, and her determination to rise up out of her circumstances survives in her book, Incidents of a Slave Girl.
Nellie Bly: 1864-1922
Born Elizabeth Jane Cochrane, Bly was an undercover journalist. She wrote exposes about women's working conditions and the prison system. She went to Mexico with her mother, and wrote reports from there about fashion, working conditions, ruins, customs for courtship and marriage, and began to delve into the topic of politics when she was asked to leave the country. Nellie also wrote an excoriating piece of the operating of an asylum on Blackwell Island, after being committed.
Subjected to inedible food and abuse from the nurses and doctors, Bly was horrified at the state of things. All 45 women in Hall 6 were being made to share two towels. Yuck! Nellie was convinced that most women were sane when they were confined to the asylum, but later lost their sanity. Women were forced to sit from 6 am to 8 pm on benches, not allowed to speak or move during those hours, served disgusting food, and abused by the staff.
Eventually, Bly would go on to write about other things, and in the vein of Jules Verne's Around the World in 80 days, traveled the span of the globe in November 1889. What a life was that?!
Jocelyn highlights the lives of other women, every life as interesting as the one before.
Give to this to your mother, your sister, your daughter. Take it out when you don't feel like bothering to write. When you wonder why you should go through the trouble. When you yourself roll your eyes at the trivial things you cover in a day (so you consider them).
Write for your life. Write for your sanity. Write for yourself.
In high school I was a Nathaniel Hawthorne short story junkie. Get me started on writing, famous authors, or "real lit" and I would immediately launch into a boring soliloquy on his symbols, allegories and other obscure stuff that would make fellow high school students stop me in mid-sentence and ask: "SO....what else is going on?"
So, when one day I read a quote by Hawthorne, deriding women writers, I was crestfallen. I would later learn that many famous writers I had previously idealised, held similar contemptuous views about women and their writing abilities, or lack thereof. What's a 17 year old girl, who considered herself a book snob, to do?
(Quote: America is now wholly given over to a d****d mob of scribbling women, and I should have no chance of success while the public taste is occupied with their trash--and should be ashamed of myself if I did succeed."
I ignored women's writing. For a LONG time. It wasn't until about 5 years later, when I read Virginia Woolf's "A Room of One's Own" that I was yanked out of that little bout of insanity.
That's why when I saw Tundra Press's Scribbling Women Tour, I had to hop on that wagon. Because, too often, we women tend to minimize our mark in the world. Maybe we are living in a post-feminism world, but aside from the very few that make it to the top, many things still haven't changed for the rest of us. If you're a stay at home mom, (me included) you push writing to the back burner. More important things need to be done. What's the point of writing, anyway? You're never going to be famous, or change the world, or get read by more than your immediate circle of family and friends (for some of us, not even that). And before we know it, years have flown by and we're left with the regrets of all the sentences left unwritten.
And this isn't only applicable to stay at home moms: many working moms come straight home from a long day's work only to start their second job of cooking dinner and cleaning. When do they have a moment to themselves, much less a moment for writing?
Pick up the pen. Stop looking over your shoulder. Don't listen to men's voices, reaching over from centuries past, to scoff at you. Do it for yourself. Make time, even if it means that a couple of loads of clothes pile up, or someone has to eat cereal instead of an omelet. Or you get the occasional dirty glance for going up to your office right after dinner.
And now, enough of my rant. More about the book :)
In researching for A Home for Foundlings (a book about an institution that rescued abandoned children), Jocelyn came across letters of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, a wife of the ambassador to Turkey three hundred years before. Mrs.Montagu's letters chronicled the "first recorded instance of what we now know as clinical trials."
Jocelyn became interested in "women whose observations...had chronicled or changed the world around them, even in very small ways."
Sei Shonagon: Sei, who was born 965 CE, wrote The Pillow Book, a collection of lists, anecdotes,, poems, gossip, reminiscences, and observations of the people she encountered each day. The book consists of 320 pages, half of them lists.
Things that can't be compared:
Night and day.
Laughter and anger.
Old age and youth.
The man you love and the same man once you've lost all
feeling for him seem like two completely different people.
Things that make me happy:
I know I shouldn't think this way, and I know I'll be punished for it, but I just love it when bad things happen to people I can't stand.
Harriet Ann Jacobs: 1813-1897
Born a slave, Jacobs didn't realize it until she was six years old. After her mother and her kindly owner, Margaret Horniblow, passed away. She had been taught to read and write, a rare occurrence. When Horniblow was given to a 5 year old relative of her deceased owner, suffice it to say her life changed dramatically. She was subject to racial slurs, being verbally and physically abused, and generally dehumanized. Jacobs' account of her life, and her determination to rise up out of her circumstances survives in her book, Incidents of a Slave Girl.
Nellie Bly: 1864-1922
Born Elizabeth Jane Cochrane, Bly was an undercover journalist. She wrote exposes about women's working conditions and the prison system. She went to Mexico with her mother, and wrote reports from there about fashion, working conditions, ruins, customs for courtship and marriage, and began to delve into the topic of politics when she was asked to leave the country. Nellie also wrote an excoriating piece of the operating of an asylum on Blackwell Island, after being committed.
Subjected to inedible food and abuse from the nurses and doctors, Bly was horrified at the state of things. All 45 women in Hall 6 were being made to share two towels. Yuck! Nellie was convinced that most women were sane when they were confined to the asylum, but later lost their sanity. Women were forced to sit from 6 am to 8 pm on benches, not allowed to speak or move during those hours, served disgusting food, and abused by the staff.
Eventually, Bly would go on to write about other things, and in the vein of Jules Verne's Around the World in 80 days, traveled the span of the globe in November 1889. What a life was that?!
Jocelyn highlights the lives of other women, every life as interesting as the one before.
Give to this to your mother, your sister, your daughter. Take it out when you don't feel like bothering to write. When you wonder why you should go through the trouble. When you yourself roll your eyes at the trivial things you cover in a day (so you consider them).
Write for your life. Write for your sanity. Write for yourself.
June 2, 2017
I didn't like this book as much as I might have and I have to admit that some of this is my own fault. I put it on hold at the library at least two years ago and only took it off suspension recently. At this point I thought it was a book about women who wrote fiction, so I was disappointed and confused when it was all about women's writings of their lives for the most part.
Oh well, at least it had a chapter on Nellie Bly and I learned about some new interesting women in history. Just sadly not authors. I'll have to find another book for that.
Oh well, at least it had a chapter on Nellie Bly and I learned about some new interesting women in history. Just sadly not authors. I'll have to find another book for that.
January 3, 2020
This book gives brief biographies of 11 women from the past whose lives are known because they wrote things down. I liked how the author gave background information about the women while also sharing quotes from the women's writings. I also enjoyed that these are women not well known (I had heard of 1 of the 11) so they were fresh biographies for me. I'm sure most of these women had no idea that their lives would be shared in a book one day.
June 27, 2024
I am extremely impressed with this book. It is so well compiled and written. It is so interesting and engaging and also so so very heartbreaking. I plan to try and read as many of these women’s original works as I can. I highly recommend this book.
November 16, 2017
Exact feels for stories like this: 💔❤️
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January 24, 20202020- I enjoyed these short biographies of "scribbling women", some of which I knew, but many I did not.
August 2, 2021
This was an easy read. Kind of like watching “Drunk History” in that you got a brief story about someone at sometime in history that did something to impact life. I don’t think I’d read it again.
February 10, 2017
The historian Gerda Lerner wrote, "All human beings are practicing historians... We live our lives; we tell our stories. It is as natural as breathing." It seems as though, for the women in this book, writing was as natural as breathing. The stories cover the years 1000 to the 1940's. Every story is different in time and space, but the same in heart and spirit. As a family historian and genealogist, I love it when women tell their stories. So often they are silent in the history books and in the official records. As Laurel Thatcher Ulrich famously wrote, "well-behaved women seldom make history." Of the twenty or so books I read in 2016, this was my favorite.
Most of the writings in this book are small, and give only a brief look into each woman's life, but they do allow us an unfiltered look into a life that we would have otherwise not known about. Many of these stories stayed with me. These women are writing about doing hard things. Often they performed remarkable acts of courage while living unremarkable lives. Margaret Catchpole was writing in 1801 about being sent from London to Australia for stealing a horse. She sailed from England in May 1801 with 94 other female prisoners on a ship called the Nile. The letters she wrote back to England depict an honest account of her life – both the hardships and the independence she was able to achieve.
In January 1823 Mary Hayden Russell and her five-year-old son joined her husband on a whaling expedition that would literally take her around the world. She kept a journal-like letter to send to her adult daughter. This is the only record of her trip. I was amazed at how dangerous this voyage was, especially for the men who went out in small boats to attack the whales. What an adventure!
Mary Kingsley was a Victorian young woman who wanted to be an explorer and a scientist. She was not formally educated but had access to her father’s large library. She loved to read and her favorite books were about long sea voyages. Her father was a doctor who travelled around the world caring for wealthy men. When her father was home, she helped him with his research that fed her curiosity about maps and people in foreign lands. She cared for her sick mother until she was thirty years old. Her father died a few weeks before her mother, and Mary took the opportunity to take a sea voyage to the Canary Islands when her brother left on a trip for the Far East. After returning home, she refused to move in with her brother and embarked on two more trips to West Africa. She was able to collect enough research to write two long books about her travels. She traveled alone on her trips. In 1900, at the age of thirty-eight, she returned to Africa to care for the soldiers during the Boer War. She caught typhoid fever and died in South Africa and was buried at sea.
Ada Blackjack’s story was harrowing. I could hardly make myself read it – for fear of how it would end. Ada was hired to be the seamstress on a secret scientific expedition to the Artic. She needed the money in order to care for her son whom she had placed in an orphanage so that he could receive the care he needed for tuberculosis. She was unable to earn the necessary funds and thought the extra money she would earn on the expedition would allow her to retrieve her son from the orphanage. In January 1923 three men left the island for Siberia. Ada was left behind with Lorne Knight and Vic the cat. In June Mr. Knight died, leaving her alone on Wrangel Island. In March she began keeping a journal. Her grammar and spelling are bad, but she is able to give a clear account of what she had to do to survive. In August she was rescued. She and Vic the cat were the only survivors of the expedition.
The story that touched me the most was that of Dr. Dang Thuy Tram. She was a young Vietnamese doctor, serving in the military for the Viet Cong. She wrote often in her journal about her family and friends, and about her military experiences. She eventually became the chief physician at her little hospital in the jungle. When she was twenty-seven years old, she was shot and killed by an American soldier. Both volumes of her journal were later discovered by an American soldier, who mailed them home to his father, and kept them hidden for almost 35 years. The journals were eventually returned to Thuy’s mother. They have been published in Vietnam and have sold nearly a half a million copies. The writing is passionate and poetic.
Most of the writings in this book are small, and give only a brief look into each woman's life, but they do allow us an unfiltered look into a life that we would have otherwise not known about. Many of these stories stayed with me. These women are writing about doing hard things. Often they performed remarkable acts of courage while living unremarkable lives. Margaret Catchpole was writing in 1801 about being sent from London to Australia for stealing a horse. She sailed from England in May 1801 with 94 other female prisoners on a ship called the Nile. The letters she wrote back to England depict an honest account of her life – both the hardships and the independence she was able to achieve.
In January 1823 Mary Hayden Russell and her five-year-old son joined her husband on a whaling expedition that would literally take her around the world. She kept a journal-like letter to send to her adult daughter. This is the only record of her trip. I was amazed at how dangerous this voyage was, especially for the men who went out in small boats to attack the whales. What an adventure!
Mary Kingsley was a Victorian young woman who wanted to be an explorer and a scientist. She was not formally educated but had access to her father’s large library. She loved to read and her favorite books were about long sea voyages. Her father was a doctor who travelled around the world caring for wealthy men. When her father was home, she helped him with his research that fed her curiosity about maps and people in foreign lands. She cared for her sick mother until she was thirty years old. Her father died a few weeks before her mother, and Mary took the opportunity to take a sea voyage to the Canary Islands when her brother left on a trip for the Far East. After returning home, she refused to move in with her brother and embarked on two more trips to West Africa. She was able to collect enough research to write two long books about her travels. She traveled alone on her trips. In 1900, at the age of thirty-eight, she returned to Africa to care for the soldiers during the Boer War. She caught typhoid fever and died in South Africa and was buried at sea.
Ada Blackjack’s story was harrowing. I could hardly make myself read it – for fear of how it would end. Ada was hired to be the seamstress on a secret scientific expedition to the Artic. She needed the money in order to care for her son whom she had placed in an orphanage so that he could receive the care he needed for tuberculosis. She was unable to earn the necessary funds and thought the extra money she would earn on the expedition would allow her to retrieve her son from the orphanage. In January 1923 three men left the island for Siberia. Ada was left behind with Lorne Knight and Vic the cat. In June Mr. Knight died, leaving her alone on Wrangel Island. In March she began keeping a journal. Her grammar and spelling are bad, but she is able to give a clear account of what she had to do to survive. In August she was rescued. She and Vic the cat were the only survivors of the expedition.
The story that touched me the most was that of Dr. Dang Thuy Tram. She was a young Vietnamese doctor, serving in the military for the Viet Cong. She wrote often in her journal about her family and friends, and about her military experiences. She eventually became the chief physician at her little hospital in the jungle. When she was twenty-seven years old, she was shot and killed by an American soldier. Both volumes of her journal were later discovered by an American soldier, who mailed them home to his father, and kept them hidden for almost 35 years. The journals were eventually returned to Thuy’s mother. They have been published in Vietnam and have sold nearly a half a million copies. The writing is passionate and poetic.
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August 30, 2012The nineteenth century male writer, Nathaniel Hawthorne, once complained about the irritating fad of “scribbling women.” The accomplished and versatile female writer of our century, Marthe Jocelyn, decided to investigate the life and work of some of these so-called “scribbling women,” those women who kept journals, wrote letters, or even published books, and in doing so, illuminated their lives and the world around them.
Jocelyn has selected a fascinating array of women from around the world whose stories spoke to her. The book is arranged in chronological order and each tale moves into the next with a brief connecting piece. She begins with Sei Shonagon, a lady-in-waiting in the tenth century Japanese court. A born gossip who loved life at court, Sei’s observations — in the form of lists, poems and anecdotes that give us much insight into her world — were collected and published in English as The Pillow Book, a book still in print. We read about Margaret Catchpole, a poor farm girl who was banished to Australia for stealing a horse. Her letters home to England give a detailed picture of life in the penal colony. A yearlong letter written by Mary Hayden Russell describes her time on a whaling ship with her husband, the captain. More familiar scribblers, Isabella Beeton and Mary Kingsley, make an appearance, as does Nellie Bly, who practically invented investigative journalism. There is a young Vietnamese doctor, killed during the war, whose poignant journal survived only because of the illegal actions of an American soldier. The book ends with the story of Australian aboriginal, Doris Pilkington, author of Rabbit-Proof Fence, the harrowing tale of her mother’s childhood under repressive government policies.
This book contains a most eclectic cast of characters and Jocelyn’s elegant storytelling creates a complete world for each brief tale. It all comes together beautifully because she never loses sight of her main theme — how these women, often in dire circumstances and under extreme duress, managed to document their lives and experiences with pen and paper. Following her passion and curiosity, Jocelyn has created a rich, thoughtful and somewhat quirky collection that can be used in English, History or Writer’s Craft classes, as well as being an inspiration to the many scribbling young women out there.
Reviewed by Mary Anne Cree in Canadian Children's Book News (Spring 2011, Vol. 34, No. 2)
Jocelyn has selected a fascinating array of women from around the world whose stories spoke to her. The book is arranged in chronological order and each tale moves into the next with a brief connecting piece. She begins with Sei Shonagon, a lady-in-waiting in the tenth century Japanese court. A born gossip who loved life at court, Sei’s observations — in the form of lists, poems and anecdotes that give us much insight into her world — were collected and published in English as The Pillow Book, a book still in print. We read about Margaret Catchpole, a poor farm girl who was banished to Australia for stealing a horse. Her letters home to England give a detailed picture of life in the penal colony. A yearlong letter written by Mary Hayden Russell describes her time on a whaling ship with her husband, the captain. More familiar scribblers, Isabella Beeton and Mary Kingsley, make an appearance, as does Nellie Bly, who practically invented investigative journalism. There is a young Vietnamese doctor, killed during the war, whose poignant journal survived only because of the illegal actions of an American soldier. The book ends with the story of Australian aboriginal, Doris Pilkington, author of Rabbit-Proof Fence, the harrowing tale of her mother’s childhood under repressive government policies.
This book contains a most eclectic cast of characters and Jocelyn’s elegant storytelling creates a complete world for each brief tale. It all comes together beautifully because she never loses sight of her main theme — how these women, often in dire circumstances and under extreme duress, managed to document their lives and experiences with pen and paper. Following her passion and curiosity, Jocelyn has created a rich, thoughtful and somewhat quirky collection that can be used in English, History or Writer’s Craft classes, as well as being an inspiration to the many scribbling young women out there.
Reviewed by Mary Anne Cree in Canadian Children's Book News (Spring 2011, Vol. 34, No. 2)
June 6, 2014
The idea of this book came when the author was researching material for another volume and repeatedly came upon interesting diaries, essays, letters and journals by women whose observations changed the world around them. Most of these women did not depend on writing for their livelihood and some of the written materials were just letters to friends, families or acquaintances, travel journals or diaries. Here are the stories of eleven “scribbling”, women who overcame challenges that may have held others back, but who disregarded expectations of the day, led exceptional lives and wrote about these challenges.
Jocelyn covers over a thousand years and a broad spectrum of life in these short biographies of women, many of who were never well known or famous. She begins the profiles in 965 in Japan and continues to the present day with no common thread to tie these women together except their urge to “scribble” and leave something behind.
These life histories include: the story of a lady in waiting in the imperial court of Japan who wrote poetry; a horse thief sentenced to one of the first penal colonies in Australia; a sea captain’s wife who took her five year old son on a whaling expedition; a slave girl who wrote about her difficult life growing up in the Southern United States; a woman who seemed to be channeling a future Martha Stewart as she published the first book of illustrated household management; a proper Victorian lady who explored the wilds of West Africa; a young girl who became one of the first investigative journalists, researched common abuses in Britain and then completed a trip around the world in less than 80 days just to see if she could do it; a young author who began dictating stories to her parents at the age of three, wrote her first book on her own at the age of 9 and was a published author at the age of 14; a young single Eskimo mother working on a remote island in Russian Siberia who was the lone survivor of a failed scientific expedition; a young idealistic military surgeon in North Vietnamese who shared details of her life in a jungle hospital and lived to the age of twenty eight before being shot in the head; and finally, the haunting story of an native Australian who shares the heart breaking consequences of the misguided resettlement strategy for aboriginal people in Australia.
A lovely little volume which had a great title!!
Jocelyn covers over a thousand years and a broad spectrum of life in these short biographies of women, many of who were never well known or famous. She begins the profiles in 965 in Japan and continues to the present day with no common thread to tie these women together except their urge to “scribble” and leave something behind.
These life histories include: the story of a lady in waiting in the imperial court of Japan who wrote poetry; a horse thief sentenced to one of the first penal colonies in Australia; a sea captain’s wife who took her five year old son on a whaling expedition; a slave girl who wrote about her difficult life growing up in the Southern United States; a woman who seemed to be channeling a future Martha Stewart as she published the first book of illustrated household management; a proper Victorian lady who explored the wilds of West Africa; a young girl who became one of the first investigative journalists, researched common abuses in Britain and then completed a trip around the world in less than 80 days just to see if she could do it; a young author who began dictating stories to her parents at the age of three, wrote her first book on her own at the age of 9 and was a published author at the age of 14; a young single Eskimo mother working on a remote island in Russian Siberia who was the lone survivor of a failed scientific expedition; a young idealistic military surgeon in North Vietnamese who shared details of her life in a jungle hospital and lived to the age of twenty eight before being shot in the head; and finally, the haunting story of an native Australian who shares the heart breaking consequences of the misguided resettlement strategy for aboriginal people in Australia.
A lovely little volume which had a great title!!
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April 4, 2011Starting with Sei Shonagon in Heian Japan and working her way chronologically to Doris Pilkington Garimara in modern day Australia, Jocelyn manages to look at the writing of a wide variety of women. She admits in her introduction that she was limited to work written in or translated into English, which explains the predominance of North American and British women in these pages. Still, this is not a book filled with the polite letters of Victorian ladies.
Of the eleven women in these pages, five are women of color and five (not the same five) spend a better part of their lives as decidedly lower class. Their stories really do cover a broad spectrum of the female experience; no two are alike. Whether you are looking for action or introspection, gumption or the strong will to make do, there is woman here for you. The women include a surgeon during the Vietnam War (Dang Thuy Tram), an undercover reporter (Nellie Bly), the eight-year-old author of still in print The Young Visiters (Daisy Ashford), and one of the first female felons to be shipped to Australia (Margaret Catchpole).
My only problem with this book was that I wanted to know more about each of the women, which is actually a good thing. In some cases, there is just not that much more that is known. In others, I'm going to have to go looking for information about these women or others like them on my own. There is a bibliography in the back of the book, but it's arranged in alphabetical order (like bibliographies should be) rather than organized by subject or chapter, and it's pretty long. I would have much preferred short biblios at the end of each chapter even if it would have broken up the narrative a bit. Also, though this book has the subject heading of "biography," the information contained in Scribbling Women is based almost entirely on the writing of the women themselves. I love this, but it will make this book a hard sell for report writers as some common details are often not included (birth and death dates, however, are present). Still, this is an interesting book about an interesting mix of women that nonfiction readers and budding young writers are sure to enjoy.
Book source: Review copy provided by the publisher through LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program.
Of the eleven women in these pages, five are women of color and five (not the same five) spend a better part of their lives as decidedly lower class. Their stories really do cover a broad spectrum of the female experience; no two are alike. Whether you are looking for action or introspection, gumption or the strong will to make do, there is woman here for you. The women include a surgeon during the Vietnam War (Dang Thuy Tram), an undercover reporter (Nellie Bly), the eight-year-old author of still in print The Young Visiters (Daisy Ashford), and one of the first female felons to be shipped to Australia (Margaret Catchpole).
My only problem with this book was that I wanted to know more about each of the women, which is actually a good thing. In some cases, there is just not that much more that is known. In others, I'm going to have to go looking for information about these women or others like them on my own. There is a bibliography in the back of the book, but it's arranged in alphabetical order (like bibliographies should be) rather than organized by subject or chapter, and it's pretty long. I would have much preferred short biblios at the end of each chapter even if it would have broken up the narrative a bit. Also, though this book has the subject heading of "biography," the information contained in Scribbling Women is based almost entirely on the writing of the women themselves. I love this, but it will make this book a hard sell for report writers as some common details are often not included (birth and death dates, however, are present). Still, this is an interesting book about an interesting mix of women that nonfiction readers and budding young writers are sure to enjoy.
Book source: Review copy provided by the publisher through LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program.
March 27, 2011
"Scribbling Women" highlights the "astonishing" lives of eleven female writers from around the world. Each of these women, who all lived sometime between the 10th and 21st centuries, have left their unique legacies behind through their writings, whether diaries, letters, novels, memoirs, or cookbooks. For some of these amazing women, entire books could be filled with their lives; for others, little is known about them besides the sources that they themselves left behind. Jocelyn has devoted only ten or twenty pages to each writer in her small book, but she still succeeds in conveying to the reader the interesting lives of her subjects. Even though I already knew about almost half of the women featured in this book, I still found new insights into their lives by reading "Scribbling Women." Given that this book is written towards younger readers, I am sure that most of the people who read this book will be able to glean not only new knowledge of a few of the most extraordinary women in history, but also a broader view of history itself. A few highlights of some of the featured females:
Most humorous: Margaret Catchpole, an English convict sent to Australia whose record exists in the letters she wrote back to her former employer, the woman she stole from.
Writers whose works I now want to read: Mary Kingsley, British adventurer who only began traveling to Africa in her thirties, and Nellie Bly, Victorian muckraking journalist.
Most absolutely astounding stories: Harriet Jacobs, enslaved mother of two by the time she was twenty, who spent seven years hiding in an attic, and Ada Blackjack, an Inuit woman who was stranded on an Arctic island for two years.
Most eye-opening: Dang Thuy Tram, North Vietnamese doctor who was killed during the Vietnam War, and Doris Pilkington Garimara, an Australian Aborigine whose mother, and then herself, were taken away from their families as part of a British attempt to "civilize" half-Aborigine children.
Most humorous: Margaret Catchpole, an English convict sent to Australia whose record exists in the letters she wrote back to her former employer, the woman she stole from.
Writers whose works I now want to read: Mary Kingsley, British adventurer who only began traveling to Africa in her thirties, and Nellie Bly, Victorian muckraking journalist.
Most absolutely astounding stories: Harriet Jacobs, enslaved mother of two by the time she was twenty, who spent seven years hiding in an attic, and Ada Blackjack, an Inuit woman who was stranded on an Arctic island for two years.
Most eye-opening: Dang Thuy Tram, North Vietnamese doctor who was killed during the Vietnam War, and Doris Pilkington Garimara, an Australian Aborigine whose mother, and then herself, were taken away from their families as part of a British attempt to "civilize" half-Aborigine children.
September 22, 2012
Have you ever wondered about the people who have gone before you and have paved the way to make your life easier?
Many women in the world are not taught to read and write and throughout time this remains true. Women and girls are undervalued. Throughout history women who wrote were told they had nothing important to say and were encouraged to stop scribbling. So Marthe Jocelyn was curious about scribbling women and started looking into resources to find the women who journaled, wrote letters and therefore described their experiences. Jocelyn narrowed this list from thousands of women to the eleven she presents in her book, Scribbling Women.
The women Jocelyn included in her book are not well known and are not famous. In fact I had only heard of three of the women, Nellie Bly, Dang Thuy Tram and Doris Pilkington Garimara. I couldn't remember much of anything about Nellie but I knew Dang Thuy Tram well because I read a copy of her journals that were in her book "Last Night I Dreamed of Peace". I read this book aloud to my 4th hour class last year so I was happy to see her represented in the book. Doris Pilkington Garimara wrote Rabbit Proof Fence and I also read this book aloud to one of my classes (years ago) and then we watched the film. Each of short biography of these Scribbling Women includes a photo and their personal quotes.
Learning about these amazing women, who maybe didn't feel so special during the time they lived, was wonderful. These are the women who have paved the way because they didn't follow the norms of the day, they pushed the limits and chose to live the way they wanted.
Thank goodness they all recorded their experiences. Reading Scribbling Women makes me consider writing my own personal journal. I used to journal all the time and have 4 full volumes, maybe it is time to for me to get back to scribbling.
Many women in the world are not taught to read and write and throughout time this remains true. Women and girls are undervalued. Throughout history women who wrote were told they had nothing important to say and were encouraged to stop scribbling. So Marthe Jocelyn was curious about scribbling women and started looking into resources to find the women who journaled, wrote letters and therefore described their experiences. Jocelyn narrowed this list from thousands of women to the eleven she presents in her book, Scribbling Women.
The women Jocelyn included in her book are not well known and are not famous. In fact I had only heard of three of the women, Nellie Bly, Dang Thuy Tram and Doris Pilkington Garimara. I couldn't remember much of anything about Nellie but I knew Dang Thuy Tram well because I read a copy of her journals that were in her book "Last Night I Dreamed of Peace". I read this book aloud to my 4th hour class last year so I was happy to see her represented in the book. Doris Pilkington Garimara wrote Rabbit Proof Fence and I also read this book aloud to one of my classes (years ago) and then we watched the film. Each of short biography of these Scribbling Women includes a photo and their personal quotes.
Learning about these amazing women, who maybe didn't feel so special during the time they lived, was wonderful. These are the women who have paved the way because they didn't follow the norms of the day, they pushed the limits and chose to live the way they wanted.
Thank goodness they all recorded their experiences. Reading Scribbling Women makes me consider writing my own personal journal. I used to journal all the time and have 4 full volumes, maybe it is time to for me to get back to scribbling.
April 8, 2011
When I was in grade school I read every single biography about a female that was to be found in my school library; then I stopped. I didn't read another until a few years ago when I got my hands on a copy of Flint & Feather: The life and Time of E. Pauline Johnson, Tekahionwake. I marvelled at all she had accomplished, but also at the lengths she had to go to get the same recognition as the men in the literary field.
In her latest book, Marthe Jocelyn has introduced me to eleven women who have also faced challenges in their lives. I was not aware of any of these remarkable women prior to reading this collection. Fortunate for us, these women all kept some sort of journal, wrote letters home, or wrote with the intention of publishing. Some of these works are still in print, including The Pillow Book by Sei Shonagon, written over one thousand years ago.
At the end of the book, Marthe shared a list of "Things I want to know more about". I have made a small list that I'm sure will grow much longer as I sit and ponder.
Things I want to know more about:
•Madame Marie Curie
•Peru
•Nepal
•training to run a marathon
•photographing food
•exploration of the North West Passage
As I was reading this book, it struck me that women writers and women quilters face some of the same challenges. Our work is often dismissed by men who refer to it as 'just something women do'. Makes me want to shriek. I knew what I had to do; I had to make a quilt.
In her latest book, Marthe Jocelyn has introduced me to eleven women who have also faced challenges in their lives. I was not aware of any of these remarkable women prior to reading this collection. Fortunate for us, these women all kept some sort of journal, wrote letters home, or wrote with the intention of publishing. Some of these works are still in print, including The Pillow Book by Sei Shonagon, written over one thousand years ago.
At the end of the book, Marthe shared a list of "Things I want to know more about". I have made a small list that I'm sure will grow much longer as I sit and ponder.
Things I want to know more about:
•Madame Marie Curie
•Peru
•Nepal
•training to run a marathon
•photographing food
•exploration of the North West Passage
As I was reading this book, it struck me that women writers and women quilters face some of the same challenges. Our work is often dismissed by men who refer to it as 'just something women do'. Makes me want to shriek. I knew what I had to do; I had to make a quilt.
April 16, 2011
From the product description, “In 1855, Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote to his publisher, complaining about the irritating fad of “scribbling women.” Whether they were written by professionals, by women who simply wanted to connect with others, or by those who wanted to leave a record of their lives, those “scribbles” are fascinating, informative, and instructive.”
In the days before email, blogs and twitter people wrote journals and letters. Due to lack of formal education women wrote few and even fewer still exist. Ms. Jocelyn researched the history and pulled a selection of 11 women who wrote. These women differ in the time period in which they lived, in background, ethnicity, education level and social status, yet they each kept journals or wrote letters. Ms. Jocelyn gives us a short synopsis of their lives and then lets them tell their stories in their own words, spelling mistakes and all.
This is a short book that really packs a punch. It takes the reader through time from imperialist China to the present. We visit with criminals, slaves, adventurers and mothers, each with a fascinating story. Well, well worth the read.
In the days before email, blogs and twitter people wrote journals and letters. Due to lack of formal education women wrote few and even fewer still exist. Ms. Jocelyn researched the history and pulled a selection of 11 women who wrote. These women differ in the time period in which they lived, in background, ethnicity, education level and social status, yet they each kept journals or wrote letters. Ms. Jocelyn gives us a short synopsis of their lives and then lets them tell their stories in their own words, spelling mistakes and all.
This is a short book that really packs a punch. It takes the reader through time from imperialist China to the present. We visit with criminals, slaves, adventurers and mothers, each with a fascinating story. Well, well worth the read.
October 3, 2011
I wish there was a 2.5 star I could give.
The book was ok.
It is a few short stories about women who have, against the odds and times, been able to write the stories of their lives. These stories have been preserved through time, and have been compiled into this short book.
The stories range from a Whale Hunters wife, to, and what I thought as the most interesting, a world war, Asian female physician, and a lady who was able to run from slavery and right her stories regarding this time and her trials and errors and successes.
Some of the stories, I don't think are worth being in this book. I think that a few of the characters, it is obvious, really didn't have much clout story wise, and there was alot of filler I think to make some of the ladies stories seem more interesting than they actually should be.
Anyways, I almost didn't finish it, and, really, I don't think its worthy paying money for. I think that if your waiting for a book to come in from the library or something and you see it, go ahead and pick it up just to see what you think of it, but, Its not necessarily worth going after.
Thats my take though!
I am sure some peoples loved it.
- CJ
The book was ok.
It is a few short stories about women who have, against the odds and times, been able to write the stories of their lives. These stories have been preserved through time, and have been compiled into this short book.
The stories range from a Whale Hunters wife, to, and what I thought as the most interesting, a world war, Asian female physician, and a lady who was able to run from slavery and right her stories regarding this time and her trials and errors and successes.
Some of the stories, I don't think are worth being in this book. I think that a few of the characters, it is obvious, really didn't have much clout story wise, and there was alot of filler I think to make some of the ladies stories seem more interesting than they actually should be.
Anyways, I almost didn't finish it, and, really, I don't think its worthy paying money for. I think that if your waiting for a book to come in from the library or something and you see it, go ahead and pick it up just to see what you think of it, but, Its not necessarily worth going after.
Thats my take though!
I am sure some peoples loved it.
- CJ
March 19, 2014
Scribbling Women by Marthe Jocelyn provides brief yet enlightening biographies of several women whose lives had no real impact on history, but rather history had an impact on their lives. The book was arranged chronologicaly beginning with Sei Shonagon, who lived during the end of the 8th century as a courtesan in Heien Japan, all the way to Doris Pilkington Garimara, a woman who is still living and was a victim of Australia's attempt to "integrate" any aboriginies who were not considered full blood into white society.
The lives in this book are well researched and intriguing, offering the reader a glimpse into the hardships of those who lived through extraordinary times in history. Although the biographies are short and often leave the reader wanting just a little bit more, they present delightful and unique situations that otherwise would remain locked in library archives. Marthe Jocelyn kept the biographies light and airy, despite the rather grim situations endured by many of the women, making this the perfect non-fiction book for people who don't read non-fiction.
The lives in this book are well researched and intriguing, offering the reader a glimpse into the hardships of those who lived through extraordinary times in history. Although the biographies are short and often leave the reader wanting just a little bit more, they present delightful and unique situations that otherwise would remain locked in library archives. Marthe Jocelyn kept the biographies light and airy, despite the rather grim situations endured by many of the women, making this the perfect non-fiction book for people who don't read non-fiction.
June 7, 2011
Unique and interesting stories about real women that are very thourhougly researched. The retelling of the stories were done with an obvious love for the subjects. Simple letters and diaries gave us a glimpse and some insight into the era that the women lived in. In many cases we might not have known some very important facts if it wasn't scribbled by these almost forgotten women. I did find it to be a little short and would have liked a little more information about each of these women, but as mentioned there isn't much to go on. This would be fabulous for YA's but I felt it was a little simple for an adult -- not that that is bad, but I think it affected my rating and that I wanted more
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