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Spinster
- Making a Life of One's Own
- Narrated by: Kate Bolick
- Length: 9 hrs and 34 mins
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Publisher's Summary
A New York Times Book Review Notable Book
“Whom to marry, and when will it happen—these two questions define every woman’s existence.”
So begins Spinster, a revelatory and slyly erudite look at the pleasures and possibilities of remaining single. Using her own experiences as a starting point, journalist and cultural critic Kate Bolick invites us into her carefully considered, passionately lived life, weaving together the past and present to examine why she—along with over 100 million American women, whose ranks keep growing—remains unmarried.
This unprecedented demographic shift, Bolick explains, is the logical outcome of hundreds of years of change that has neither been fully understood, nor appreciated. Spinster introduces a cast of pioneering women from the last century whose genius, tenacity, and flair for drama have emboldened Bolick to fashion her life on her own terms: columnist Neith Boyce, essayist Maeve Brennan, social visionary Charlotte Perkins Gilman, poet Edna St. Vincent Millay, and novelist Edith Wharton. By animating their unconventional ideas and choices, Bolick shows us that contemporary debates about settling down, and having it all, are timeless—the crucible upon which all thoughtful women have tried for centuries to forge a good life.
Intellectually substantial and deeply personal, Spinster is both an unreservedly inquisitive memoir and a broader cultural exploration that asks us to acknowledge the opportunities within ourselves to live authentically. Bolick offers us a way back into our own lives—a chance to see those splendid years when we were young and unencumbered, or middle-aged and finally left to our own devices, for what they really are: unbounded and our own to savor.
What the critics say
New York Times bestseller
One of Flavorwire's 10 Books That Will Define the Conversation in 2015
One of Newsday's Books Not to Miss
One of Publishers Weekly’s Top 10 Social Science Titles of 2015
One of Bookpage’s "15 Books We Can’t Wait to Read in 2015"
One of Vogue.com’s Recommended Spring Books for 2015
Featured in Bookish’s Spring Preview
Featured in Bustle’s Spring Preview
“What’s surprising about Spinster is how, in its charmingly digressive style, the book sets forth a clear vision not just for single women, but for all women: to disregard the reigning views of how women should live, to know their own hearts and to carve out a little space for their dreams.” —New York Times Book Review
“Awakened and inspired by the lives of five historical women, Bolick revels in her own singledom in this blazingly smart memoir, which argues that “spinster” should be a coveted destination, not a dirty word. Her eloquent, provocative story illustrates how charting a unique course can make any life truly singular.” —People
What listeners say about Spinster
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- Anne
- 2021-02-12
Spinster
Good research on spinsters. Writer is interested in the idea but presents as a serial monogamist. Nothing wrong with that but it is puzzling.
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