Now available in paperback for the first time, this is the first reference book to concentrate on early twentieth-century women's writing. It includes detailed entries on 185 authors, ranging from the canonical (Dorothy Richardson, Rebecca West, Virginia Woolf) through the popular (Agatha Christie, Nancy Mitford, Beatrix Potter) to the largely forgotten (Olive Moore, Barbara Comyns, Winifred Watson). The book opens up whole new fields of research, providing information and references relating to a group of fascinating authors in need of rediscovery. The encyclopedia also provides contextualising material, with 76 concise introductions to related topics, including organisations, movements, genres and publications, as well as literary and historical events. Topics covered include Bloomsbury, Children's Literature, Libraries, Fashion and Youth Culture, Sexology, Mass Observation, Education and the Welfare State. An integral timeline provides a framework for the entries, and an annotated bibliography of 100 books (including criticism, history, reference, and anthologies) is an invaluable point of reference.