Clemence Dane’s first novel,
Regiment of Women, published in 1917 by Heinemann, has been credited with establishing a tradition of lesbian writing, influencing Radclyffe Hall’s later, more outspoken and controversial lesbian novel,
Well of Loneliness(1928). Since Virago re-issued it in 1995 as part of their “Lesbian Landmarks” series, Dane’s treatment of homosexual female relationships has attracted the attention of lesbian-feminist critics. It also belongs to the education novel genre, which, flourishing in the early twentieth century, explored the pressures exerted by boarding establishments upon their pupils (Baldick 192).
The narrative begins at an old-fashioned boarding school for girls, Utteridge, where Clare Harthill, a lesbian-identified senior teacher, selfishly
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Citation: McDonald, Louise. "Regiment of Women". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 13 July 2017 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=35536, accessed 25 November 2024.]
