Adams, Katherine H. A Group of Their Own: College Writing Courses and American Women Writers, 1880–1940. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2001. 220 pp.

by Erika M. Kreger

Katherine Adams begins this well-researched work with an overview of the challenges faced by women writers from the colonial period through the 1800s. The body of the discussion examines American women's entry into college life and the development of university writing courses at the turn into the twentieth century and explores the impact of the collegiate experience on female writers through 1940. Adams makes a solid case both for the advantages women gained through university training and for the significant impact of writing groups on women's self-perception and career advancement. Enrollment and employment statistics attest to the rapid increase in female presence on campuses and in the workforce, while powerful anecdotes leave no doubt about women's desire to publish. This book makes clear the abundance and visibility of women writers in America between 1880 and 1940, the significance of their work, and the formidable obstacles they overcame. Throughout the study Adams includes the African American experience and indicates how black and white women's collegiate opportunities differed.