A Feminist Reader in Early Cinema

"[A] richly detailed and kaleidoscopic vision of gender as filtered through the lens of the early film industry. . . ." - Linda S. Coleman , Journal of American Culture

"[T]his book covers rich ground. The authors have done the historical research required to bring to life the facts and the stories. . . . [F]ilm historians and feminist media scholars will want to own this book. . . . [T]he book provides links between the escape of women from the cultural constraints of the nineteenth century and the evolution of film in the twentieth century. In doing so, it provides a perspective from which ideological inquiries may be framed." - Mark Goodman , Journal of Film and Video

"Drwing extensively on archival research, the collections yields startling accounts of women’s multiple roles as early producers, directors, writers, stars, and viewers. It also engages urgent questions about cinema’s capacity for presenting a stable visual field, often at the expense of racially, sexually, or classmarked bodies."

- Mev Miller , Feminist Academic Press Column

"Every reader will find their own favourites in this smorgasbord. . . . If your own interest in early cinema is already established, you will find something stimulating and provocative here, in the wide range of topics and approaches on offer. If you are just entering this territory, this collection provides a rich selection to whet your appetite for further explorations." - Ina Bertrand, Screening the Past

”Despite the enormous amount of work that has been done in the last two decades on women and early cinema, this anthology is the first of its kind. It is outstanding.” - Judith Mayne, author of Framed: Lesbians, Feminists, and Media Culture

”This collection is a persuasive reminder that the hottest current topics in film theory—cultural intersections, questions of authorship, fantasy and technology, representation and the body—demand and are illuminated by feminist inquiry.” - Linda Mizejewski, author of Ziegfeld Girl: Image and Icon in Culture and Cinema