Sarah Grand
Sarah Grand, born Frances Elizabeth Bellenden Clarke in 1854 in Ireland, was a prominent novelist and a key figure in the late 19th-century literary movement known as the "New Woman." After moving to England with her family following her father's death, Grand received education in various institutions before marrying an army surgeon, which led her to travel extensively. Her writing career began in earnest with the publication of her first novel, "Two Dear Little Feet," in 1873, which tackled social issues related to women's attire and rational dress.
Grand's 1888 novel "Ideala" marked a turning point, featuring discussions on women's roles in society, marriage, and morality. It was through her works, notably "The Heavenly Twins" and "The Beth Book," that Grand explored taboo subjects such as syphilis and the lives of women affected by societal norms. She is credited with coining the term "New Woman," representing a new breed of female protagonists who sought independence, education, and the ability to choose their partners.
Grand's novels were groundbreaking for their candid treatment of sexuality and women's rights, contrasting with prior Victorian depictions of women as victims. Her characters were portrayed as strong and morally superior, challenging men and societal expectations of their time. Grand's advocacy for women's issues and her innovative storytelling have solidified her legacy in the literary world.
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Subject Terms
Sarah Grand
Fiction Writer
- Born: 1854
- Birthplace: Ireland
- Died: 1943
- Place of death: Wiltshire, England
Biography
Frances Elizabeth Bellenden Clarke was born in Ireland in 1854, to Margaret Bell Sherwood Clarke and naval officer Edward John Bellenden Clarke. Upon her father’s death, her family moved to Yorkshire, England, when she was seven years old. She received her basic education at home. As a teenager, she attended the Royal Naval School at Twickenham and a finishing school in Kensington. She married David Chambers McFall, an army surgeon. She had one son and traveled widely as a military wife to Singapore, Ceylon, China, Japan, Malta, and France, places that were to provide the settings for her novels.
Early on in her marriage, Grand began writing novels. Her Two Dear Little Feet (1873), which was highly moralistic in nature, merely seemed to warn against wearing tight shoes, but also made a case for rational dress. After an especially dry period when none of her stories were accepted for publication, Grand financed the anonymous publication of Ideala in 1888. Although the plot is thin, the characters’ discussion of women’s issues, especially those of brother and sister Lord Dawne and Claudia, bring to light women’s position in British society and raised pertinent questions about marriage and morality. Ideala’s promiscuous and abusive husband is the center of a debate whether she should leave him for a far more lovable man, Lorrimer. She finally leaves her husband, rejects Lorrimer and sets out for China to help improve the world for women.
After the publication of Ideala in 1888, Grand accumulated the financial means to leave her unhappy marriage. Her 1893 The Heavenly Twins, set in Malta among military men and their wives, deals with such heretofore forbidden subjects as syphilis and cross-dressing, and became a best seller in England and the United States. Grand’s semi-autobiographical novel The Beth Book (1897), set in a hospital that confined prostitutes with venereal disease, details the unhappy life of a young woman who marries a cruel and aloof doctor.
Grand used her novels as platforms for social change. She is credited with coining the term New Woman for the group of novelists who dealt openly with matters of sexuality, shed light on the inequalities of traditional marriage which they believed institutionalized female oppression, and validated the double standard of sexual morality. New Women heroines demanded new freedoms, including the right to pursue an education or a sexual partner of their own choosing. Grand, herself a believer in happy marriages based on love and mutual respect, broke ground by treating sexuality and problems concerning women with great openness. While earlier Victorian writers had pointed out the obstacles women faced in areas of education and social roles, most of the female characters were portrayed as victims. Grand’s heroines, however, are positive and intelligent. They posit themselves as morally superior and challenge men to rise to their standards.