The Yellow Wallpaper and Other Stories

A charming collection of stories from Charlotte Gilman, most notably remembered as the author of high school favourite The Yellow Wallpaper, a searing depiction of the slide into mental disarray masked in a cloak of horror fiction.

This collection highlights just how anachronistic Gilman was, and firmly casts her as a pioneer of first wave feminism. Her frustration at the dismissiveness she had to deal with because of her sex is palpable throughout, and many of the questions posed in her stories are still very relevant today, some very close to the bone indeed.

I'd like to try out some of her novels or novellas in the future as I found that many of these stories were quite abruptly ended, or contained ideas that felt too big to be confined to such a small space. I suspect she'll bloom in the longer format.

3.5 stars.