British women's literature of World War I

For much of the twentieth century, a deep ignorance was displayed towards British women’s literature of World War I. Scholars reasoned that women had not fought combatively, thus, did not play as significant a role as men. Accordingly, only one body of work, Vera Brittain’s autobiographical, Testament of Youth, was added to the canon of Great War literature. Conversely, anthologies published mid-century such as Brian Gardner’s, Up the Line to Death: The War Poets of 1914-1918, contained no mention of contributions made by women. Similarly, Jon Silkin’s 1979 anthology, Penguin Book of First World War Poetry, included the work of only two women, Anna Akhmatova and Marina Tsvetaeva. However, new research has changed ideological beliefs about the role women assumed in producing authentic accounts of war. More specifically, in Britain, research attends to an explanation of how women’s war literature shaped feminist discourse during and immediately following the war.

Catherine Reilly has closely studied women’s literature from World War I and its resulting impact on the relationship between gender, class, and society. Reilly’s 1981 anthology, Scars Upon my Heart: Women’s Poetry and Verse of the First World War, is the first work strictly dedicated to examining women’s poetry and prose from World War I. In it, she demonstrates the existence of a strong female narrative. She argues that women’s writing was overshadowed by the false belief that male writing was of greater importance. Scholar Vincent Sherry agrees, noting that women had a strong and powerful literary voice, that until recently had been ignored.

According to Millicent Fawcett, founder of Newnham College, Cambridge and president of the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies, women transitioned from domestic serfdom to social freedom by the end of World War I. This is due to the fact that women moved from domestic life into the industrial realm of society. During the war, industrial factories often transitioned into munitions factories. The women that worked in this field were referred to as munitionettes. There was an increase of opportunities in the job market, as two million women replaced men in the workplace. Women became active in the roles that were previously occupied by men. Furthermore, 37% of women were employed by the end of the war. British women were brought out of the household and traditional domestic life and thrust into industrial factory work.

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