The heartbreaking autobiographical novel that paved the way for feminist writers in Italy.

'Women were certainly not yet mistresses of themselves. Would they ever be?'

First published in 1906, this semi-autobiographical novel is a key text for understanding Italian women's writing of the twentieth century and offers a tremendous insight into fin de siecle Italian life and its social issues.

Aleramo's astonishing account takes the reader across a tormented journey of self affirmation - from the narrator's loss of innocence, grief and isolation, enlightenment then emancipation - offering a strikingly clear self-analysis and a vibrant depiction of the early feminist movement in Italy. It is a captivating Bildungsroman whose endpoint is a new, emancipated female identity.