Reviews and Literary Criticism

Unlike those works that focus on Rhys’s personal life, these sources emphasize Rhys’s writing. A significant number of articles and books have been written about Rhys’s literature. As a starting point in the array of critical literature on Rhys, the sources below have been selected for their currency, scope, and accessibility. Taken together, these five sources consider all of Rhys’s work (short fiction, novels, and autobiography). All are accessible either from Davis Reference or from Davis floor 7.

• “Jean Rhys: 1890-1979.” Contemporary Literary Criticism: Excerpts from Criticism of the Works of Today’s Novelists, Poets, Playwrights, Short Story Writers, Scriptwriters, and Other Creative Writers. Ed. Daniel G. Marowski and Roger Matuz. Vol. 51. Detroit: Gale Research, 1989.
  
  This useful collection of literary criticisms endeavors to cover all of Rhys’s writings. Following a brief overview of Rhys’s work, there are twenty excerpts of different criticism spanning twenty two pages, beginning with a 1927 Times Literary Supplement criticism of Rhys’s The Left Bank and Other Stories and ending with a 1987 discussion of Rhys’s collected short stories from the magazine The New Republic. This is an excellent panoply of articles about Rhys’s writing, ideal for literature students.
  PN771 .C59 v. 51
  Davis Reference row 4

• “Jean Rhys: 1890-1979.” Short Story Criticism: Excerpts from Criticism of the Works of Short Fiction Authors. Ed. Drew Kalasky. Vol. 21. Detroit: Gale Research Group, 1996.
  
  Contains 45 pages comprised of a brief general introduction, a bibliography, and 13 critical essays. This is a most useful source as it is actually a compendium of several disparate sources, though the scope is limited mainly to discussions of Rhys’s short fiction.
  PN 3335.S56 v. 21
  Davis Reference row 4

• Maurel, Sylvie. Jean Rhys. London: Macmillan Press, 1998.
  
  Ideal for students of literature or feminism, this 200-page book discusses each of Rhys’s novels separately while not ignoring her short fiction. Maurel views Rhys as a subversive writer and substantiates her theory with feminist dissent criticism and close readings that focus on Rhys’s language.
  PR6035 .H96 Z794 1998b
  Davis floor 7

• Thomas, Sue. The Worlding of Jean Rhys. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1999.
  
  As the title suggests, this book focuses on Rhys’s international perspective. Thomas explores Rhys’s identity as a Dominican-born, white Creole, English woman. Thomas’s political criticism devotes attention to Rhys’s novels, short stories, and autobiography.
  PR6035 .H96 Z9 1999
  Davis floor 7

• Savory, Elaine. Jean Rhys. Cambridge, NY: Cambridge University Press, 1998.
  
  Savory argues that all of Rhys’s writing—her novels, her short stories, even her as-yet-unpublished autobiographical sketches—must be viewed in light of her Caribbean background. This is an important contribution to the study of Rhys’s Post-Colonial style, both as a person and as a writer.
  PR6035 .H96 Z738 1998
  Davis floor 7