Eyesight not as good as it once was? But you still want to hold and read real books? And you love the great works of literature? Do you love reading and re-reading the most popular stories ever written? But are they hard to read because of your being visually impaired or fading eyesight? You're not alone. Millions of readers still prefer the joy and comfort of holding a real book in their hands and slowly turning the pages. If that is you, then here's some good news. Welcome to your discovery of "Classics in Large Print." This new series, making use of the latest in printing methods for seniors and visually impaired readers, is making available many of the greatest books ever written. The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is a short story that, despite its length, is largely regarded as one of the most important feminist texts ever written. The story itself follows a woman's slow descent into madness when she and her husband spend the summer in a large mansion. The text discusses many themes that would not come to light until years later, such as male dominance and women being trapped in the home. Through this, The Yellow Wallpaper masterfully blends story and theme, showing many attitude surrounding women's health as well as their physical and mental well being.
About the Author: Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860-1935) was born in New England, a descendent of the prominent and influential Beecher family. Despite the affluence of her most famous ancestors, she was born into poverty. Her father abandoned the family when she was a child, and she received just four years of formal education. At an early age she vowed never to marry, hoping instead to devote her life to public service. In 1882, however, at the age of twenty-one, she was introduced to Charles Walter Stetson (1858-1911), a Providence, Rhode Island artist, and the two were married in 1884. Charlotte Stetson became pregnant almost immediately after their marriage, gave birth to a daughter, and sunk into a deep depression that lasted for several years. She eventually entered a sanitarium in Philadelphia to undergo the "rest cure," a controversial treatment for nervous prostration, which forbade any type of physical activity or intellectual stimulation. After a month, she returned to her husband and child and subsequently suffered a nervous breakdown. In 1888, she left Stetson and moved with her daughter to California, where her recovery was swift. In the early 1890s, she began writing and lecturing, and in 1892, she published the now-famous story, "The Yellow Wall-Paper." A volume of poems followed a year later. In 1898, she published her most famous book, Women and Economics. With its publication, and its subsequent translation into seven languages, Gilman earned international acclaim. In 1900, she married her first cousin, Houghton Gilman. Over the next twenty-five years, she wrote and published more than a dozen books. In 1932, Gilman learned that she had breast cancer. Three years later, at the age of seventy-five, she committed suicide. Although her reputation declined in the years before her death, in 1993, Gilman was named the sixth most influential woman of the twentieth century in a poll commissioned by the Siena Research Institute. In 1994, she was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in Seneca Falls, New York.