About the Author

Rachel Mesch is Associate Professor of French at Yeshiva University. She is the author of The Hysteric's Revenge: French Women Writers at the Fin de Siècle (2006).

Reviews

"Having It All in the Bell Epoque provides a fine historical survey debating the history of high-achieving women and how the roots of these achievers can be traced back to early 1900s France. Two key photographic magazines for women created a female role model who embodied new freedoms and approaches for women, captivating large numbers of French women and setting the stage for a century of women's rights changes. This focus on these publications provides new images of this modern French figure, analyzes artistic and literary trends contributing to the rise of this culture, and blends history with literary and artistic insights throughout, making for a solid and specific pick for any women's studies collection." - Midwest Book Review "In the search for work-life balance, readers will marvel at suggestions that date back 100 years." - Publishers Weekly "This book's unique angle of analysis, wealth of quotations from primary sources, and many illustrations make it both a viable teaching tool and a scholarly resource." - Miglena Sternadori, Journal of Magazine and New Media Research "Mesch illuminates both the context that produced the paradox of 'having it all' and the difficulties that arose as a result. Her book opens a window onto a distant and relatively unknown past, all the while shedding light on debates that are still very much alive today." - Susan Hiner, Vassar College "For too long, we have tended to view the Belle Epoque through the prism of the feminism of our own day - how it measures up or falls short of current standards. By linking women's magazines of the time to novels, visual imagery, and cultural practices, Mesch breaks out of this straitjacket, offering the most insightful and thorough examination of that space to date." - Lenard R. Berlanstein, University of Virginia