The Two of Them (novel)
The Two of Them is a feminist science fiction novel by Joanna Russ. It was first published in 1978 in the United States by Berkley Books and in Great Britain by The Women's Press in 1986. It was last reissued in 2005 by the Wesleyan University Press with a foreword by Sarah LeFanu.
 First edition | |
| Author | Joanna Russ |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Norm Walker |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Science fiction |
| Publisher | Berkley Books |
Publication date | May 1978 |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| Pages | 226 |
| ISBN | 0-399-12149-8 (hardcover) |
| OCLC | 3516946 |
| 813/.5/4 | |
| LC Class | PZ4.R9548 Tw PS3568.U763 |
Plot
Irene, a female galactic agent, rescues a young woman, Zubeydeh, from a male-dominant culture of a colonized planet, Ala-ed-deen, where women are kept in purdah.
...shivers generically between telling the realistic story of oppression -and escape- of a young woman brought up on a planet whose religion is reminiscent of Islam, and deconstructing this generic material into the embittered dreams of a woman trapped on Earth
Background
This novel uses characters and a setting from Suzette Haden Elgin's short story "For The Sake Of Grace," with Elgin's permission. Russ discloses this in the novel's dedication page.
References
- Notes
- Clute and Nicholls 1995, p. 1035.
- Bibliography
- Clute, John and Peter Nicholls. The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. New York: St. Martin's Griffin, 1993 (2nd edition 1995). ISBN 0-312-13486-X.
- Cortiel, Jeanne. "Demand My Writing: Joanna Russ/Feminism/Science Fiction" in Science Fiction Texts and Studies. Liverpool, UK: Liverpool University Press, 1999. pp. 64–70, 104-121. ISBN 0-85323-614-3.
- Spencer, Kathleen L. "Rescuing the Female Child: The Fiction of Joanna Russ" Science Fiction Studies 17.2 (1990): pp. 167–187.
External links
- Gwyneth Jones. "Joanna Russ Deconstructs Space Opera: Review of the 2005 edition of "The Two of Them"". Retrieved 20 March 2011.
- The Two of Them title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database