You can make a good case for the sexism in old books. Just look at the Book of Genesis: Lot’s Wife. Noah’s Wife. These are the ladies so oppressed that they didn’t even deserve names. However, I think we can attribute what looks like the exact came same kind of sexism in titling Allan’s Wife more to marketing than anything else. This is, after all, the third novel in the Allan Quatermain series. And it’s not actually very much about his wife, at least at the start. It tells more tales of Quatermain’s time in South Africa, his observations about two dueling witchdoctors (they use their magic to control lighting), his father’s death, and eventually the fate of his wife. For the record Allan Quatermain’s wife (of the title) is named “Stella Carson.” Come to think of it, some clever writer could probably do a whole series of YA books called The Adventures Of Allanah Quatermain (perhaps a secret grandaughter?). Until then…
Allan’s Wife
By H. Rider Haggard; Read by Elaine Tweddle
15 Zipped MP3 Files or Podcast – Approx. 4 Hours 49 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: December 2009
Podcast feed: http://librivox.org/rss/3718
iTunes 1-Click |SUBSCRIBE|
[Thanks also to mim@can and James Christopher]
Posted by Jesse Willis
Hi,
Speaking of Noah’s wife, it was just that disregard for women’s roles in history that led me to write a novel about Noah’s wife, to give her a name and a presence (a starring role, actually) in an alternative history based on evidence of a massive flood in ancient Turkey. Check it out at my website, http://www.tkthorne.com where you can read the first chapter!