Publisher's Weekly Review
Between 1901 and 1911, two French magazines, Femina and La Vie Heureuse, filled their pages with stories of outstanding, accomplished women who embodied the femme moderne. In this entertaining academic history of these rival magazines, Mesches, a French professor at Yeshiva University, explores the emergence of the working woman in France. The magazines catered to a well-educated reader who had "other facets to her identity," yet also fulfilled traditional roles. Plugging into the literary scene and an intellectual image, the magazine editors set up literary prizes, cultivated women writers, and featured photo spreads of celebrity novelists at their writing tables, including Colette. World events interfered, and the publisher Hachette acquired and merged the magazines in 1916. The hybrid failed its mission, the femme moderne movement lost momentum, and suffrage was delayed until 1944. The first half of the book concentrates on the glamorized image of the working woman as conceived by both magazines, while the second half measures the scope of their influence including the legacy of the ongoing Prix Femina. In the search for work-life balance, readers will marvel at suggestions that date back 100 years. Illus. (July) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Library Journal Review
Mesch (French, Columbia Univ.) presents a detailed textual and photographic study of two French women's magazines, Femina and La Vie Heureuse, to argue that La Belle Epoque (1870-1914), or "the Beautiful Era," represented a time of transition in the lives of French women. Both published in the period 1901-14, the magazines challenged the negative stereotype of the feminist activist and "New Woman" to offer readers a contrasting and more attractive vision of new possibilities for their lives. The author relies on a painstakingly close analysis of the images, advertisements, textual content, and marketing ploys of both publications to demonstrate that these years saw a construction of a new model for French womanhood, both progressive and conservative. Although both Femina and La Vie Heureuse consciously disavowed political feminism, each dared women to think about a new lifestyle in which they could "have it all"-family, husband, home, and an outlet for larger interests. Mesch conveys a strikingly modern message and expertly analyzes the techniques used by these publications to strike a balance between feminist achievement and feminine domesticity. Richly illustrated, this book combines insights about French women, literature, mass culture, and media. Verdict While the research methodology behind this study is innovative and creative, the story may be of more interest to specialists than a general audience. Recommended for scholars and deep enthusiasts of French culture, literature, and history.-Marie M. Mullaney, Caldwell Coll., NJ (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
![Cover image for Having it all in the Belle Epoque [electronic resource] : how French women's magazines invented the modern woman / Rachel Mesch.](/client/assets/5.1326/ctx//client/images/no_image.png "Cover image for Having it all in the Belle Epoque [electronic resource] : how French women's magazines invented the modern woman / Rachel Mesch.")