Overview

‘A fascinating mix of literary criticism, cultural history and memoir … Highly enjoyable’ Sunday Times How might we live more freely, and will we be happier or lonelier if we do? Rereading The Golden Notebook in her thirties, Lara Feigel discovered that Doris Lessing spoke directly to her as a woman, writer and mother in a way that no other novelist had done. Veering between admiration and fury at the choices Lessing made, Feigel conducts a dazzling investigation into the joys and costs of sexual, psychological, intellectual and political freedom. The result is this genre-defying book: at once a meditation on life and literature and a daring act of self-exposure.

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9781408878576

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An extraordinary meditation on what it means to be a clever, engaged woman two generations after Lessing ... A classical, precise use of language ... Most compelling ... Physically and intellectually intimate -- Patrick French * Guardian * A fascinating mix of literary criticism, cultural history and memoir so exposing that it can almost make you blush. Feigel writes with singing clarity in prose that sometimes verges on the hypnotic. Her reimagining of Lessing's home and childhood in what was then Rhodesia is vivid and enthralling ... Absorbing and highly enjoyable -- Christina Patterson * Sunday Times * Free Woman is a valuable and brave contribution to a discussion that shows no sign of resolution -- Stephanie Merritt * Observer * The most intriguing and certainly the bravest work of literary scholarship I have ever read -- Deborah Levy Ironic, beautiful and rather moving -- Joanna Kavenna * Literary Review * Free Woman is not a biography, but the same artistic process is at work: as a biographer, you think you are going to possess your subject, but they always end up possessing you. It's fertile ground, and Feigel a fine explorer. I really enjoyed this book. -- Sara Wheeler * Spectator * Lara Feigel's Free Woman has taken on the formidable Doris for a new generation ... Feigel has the gift of converting complex thoughts into coherent sentences that delight * The Times * Free Woman is worth reading as a piece of complicated thought, and one that's funny and sexy and frank, to boot -- Lily Meyer * NPR * Part memoir, part biography and part literary criticism, this stylishly written book is as much about its author as it is about her free-thinking literary heroine ... [Feigel] has successfully re-interpreted the formidable Lessing for a new generation * The Lady * Heartfelt, ambitious [...] a testament to the enduring power of The Golden Notebook * The Tablet * Feigel has written a wonderful book in a critical genre in which she is a pioneer. There will, for sure, be more works of new biography . Let's hope they are as good as this one -- Praise for 'The Love-charm of Bombs' - John Sutherland * New Statesman * Wholly engaging ... Free Woman is a brave book, written by and about a brave woman, Feigel's willingness to lay bare her own life allows the world of Doris Lessing, in all her complicated, contradictory, self-centred, generous genius, to come to life * Irish Times *

An extraordinary meditation on what it means to be a clever, engaged woman two generations after Lessing ... A classical, precise use of language ... Most compelling ... Physically and intellectually intimate -- Patrick French * Guardian * A fascinating mix of literary criticism, cultural history and memoir so exposing that it can almost make you blush. Feigel writes with singing clarity in prose that sometimes verges on the hypnotic. Her reimagining of Lessing's home and childhood in what was then Rhodesia is vivid and enthralling ... Absorbing and highly enjoyable -- Christina Patterson * Sunday Times * Free Woman is a valuable and brave contribution to a discussion that shows no sign of resolution -- Stephanie Merritt * Observer * The most intriguing and certainly the bravest work of literary scholarship I have ever read -- Deborah Levy Ironic, beautiful and rather moving -- Joanna Kavenna * Literary Review * Free Woman is not a biography, but the same artistic process is at work: as a biographer, you think you are going to possess your subject, but they always end up possessing you. It's fertile ground, and Feigel a fine explorer. I really enjoyed this book. -- Sara Wheeler * Spectator * Lara Feigel's Free Woman has taken on the formidable Doris for a new generation ... Feigel has the gift of converting complex thoughts into coherent sentences that delight * The Times * Free Woman is worth reading as a piece of complicated thought, and one that's funny and sexy and frank, to boot -- Lily Meyer * NPR * Part memoir, part biography and part literary criticism, this stylishly written book is as much about its author as it is about her free-thinking literary heroine ... [Feigel] has successfully re-interpreted the formidable Lessing for a new generation * The Lady * Heartfelt, ambitious [...] a testament to the enduring power of The Golden Notebook * The Tablet * Feigel has written a wonderful book in a critical genre in which she is a pioneer. There will, for sure, be more works of new biography . Let's hope they are as good as this one -- Praise for 'The Love-charm of Bombs' - John Sutherland * New Statesman * Wholly engaging ... Free Woman is a brave book, written by and about a brave woman, Feigel's willingness to lay bare her own life allows the world of Doris Lessing, in all her complicated, contradictory, self-centred, generous genius, to come to life * Irish Times * A fine account of how five writers responded imaginatively to the blitz ... Lara Feigel, a young critic, has transformed this insight into an absorbing and well-researched group biography of five prominent writers -- Praise for 'The Love-charm of Bombs' - Robert McCrum * Observer * Shocking, enjoyable, full of surprises -- Praise for 'The Love-charm of Bombs' - Michael Holroyd A superb achievement - praise for 'A Bitter Taste of Victory' -- Frances Wilson * Daily Telegraph * Well researched and beautifully written - praise for 'A Bitter Taste of Victory' -- Dominic Sandbrook * Sunday Times * [A] panoramic book, which manages to blend a grand historical sweep with fascinating personal detail ... Feigel does a brilliant job of shining a spotlight on this complicated moral universe - praise for 'A Bitter Taste of Victory' -- Kathryn Hughes * Mail on Sunday *

An extraordinary meditation on what it means to be a clever, engaged woman two generations after Lessing … A classical, precise use of language … Most compelling … Physically and intellectually intimate -- Patrick French * Guardian * A fascinating mix of literary criticism, cultural history and memoir so exposing that it can almost make you blush. Feigel writes with singing clarity in prose that sometimes verges on the hypnotic. Her reimagining of Lessing’s home and childhood in what was then Rhodesia is vivid and enthralling … Absorbing and highly enjoyable -- Christina Patterson * Sunday Times * Free Woman is a valuable and brave contribution to a discussion that shows no sign of resolution -- Stephanie Merritt * Observer * The most intriguing and certainly the bravest work of literary scholarship I have ever read -- Deborah Levy Ironic, beautiful and rather moving -- Joanna Kavenna * Literary Review * Free Woman is not a biography, but the same artistic process is at work: as a biographer, you think you are going to possess your subject, but they always end up possessing you. It’s fertile ground, and Feigel a fine explorer. I really enjoyed this book. -- Sara Wheeler * Spectator * Lara Feigel’s Free Woman has taken on the formidable Doris for a new generation … Feigel has the gift of converting complex thoughts into coherent sentences that delight * The Times * Free Woman is worth reading as a piece of complicated thought, and one that's funny and sexy and frank, to boot -- Lily Meyer * NPR * Part memoir, part biography and part literary criticism, this stylishly written book is as much about its author as it is about her free-thinking literary heroine … [Feigel] has successfully re-interpreted the formidable Lessing for a new generation * The Lady * Heartfelt, ambitious [...] a testament to the enduring power of The Golden Notebook * The Tablet * Feigel has written a wonderful book in a critical genre in which she is a pioneer. There will, for sure, be more works of “new biography”. Let’s hope they are as good as this one -- Praise for 'The Love-charm of Bombs' - John Sutherland * New Statesman * Wholly engaging … Free Woman is a brave book, written by and about a brave woman, Feigel’s willingness to lay bare her own life allows the world of Doris Lessing, in all her complicated, contradictory, self-centred, generous genius, to come to life * Irish Times *

Author Information

Lara Feigel is a Reader in Modern Literature and Culture at King's College London. She is the author of Literature, Cinema and Politics, 1930–1945 and the editor (with Alexandra Harris) of Modernism on Sea: Art and Culture at the British Seaside and (with John Sutherland) of the New Selected Journals of Stephen Spender. She has also written for the Guardian, the Financial Times and Prospect. The Love-charm of Bombs (2013) and The Bitter Taste of Victory (2016) were both published to critical acclaim. Lara lives in Oxfordshire. larafeigel.com @larafeigel

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