For nearly a century, the profound impact of the Great War as been almost exclusively recounted in men's battlefield histories, speeches, and stories. But a vast body of writing exists that challenges this traditional idea of "war literature," which is an often ignored aspect of the war: a vision of World War I conceived by women. Lines of Fire is the most comprehensive collection of women's writing from the First World War. Its authors are a remarkable and diverse group - citizens, soldiers, nurses, journalists, activists, wives and mothers - whose lives were greatly altered by this devastating war. In works by well-known authors like Rebecca West and Edith Wharton, as well as writers from India, Armenia, Hungary, and the Cameroons, we hear women speaking out on such issues as politics, economic justice, and social reform. From incisive political treatises to gripping medical accounts, diary entries, poetry, and stunning visual art, Lines of Fire vividly captures the spirit of the women who lived through this divisive time in our history.
