"Michael Field" was the pseudonym of Katharine Bradley and Edith Cooper, an aunt-niece duo who shared a devoted partnership for three decades during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. While much has been discussed regarding their poetry and plays, this book is the first to concentrate on their diary, maintained for twenty-five years and regarded by them as an "unpublished manuscript" titled Works and Days. Dever posits that this work exemplifies a significant experimental prose narrative during the transition from Victorian to modernist literature. The co-written diary, spanning twenty-nine volumes and approximately 9,500 pages, reflects their aspirations for a life beyond the confines of home and family, showcasing new forms of women's intimacy at the turn of the twentieth century. Dever examines five crucial years in their lives as chronicled in the diary: the death of Cooper's mother, a year marked by personal and professional setbacks, the passing of Cooper's father, the establishment of their shared home, and the profound loss of their dog, Whym Chow. Through this intimate exploration of the Fields' writing, Dever highlights their unexpected role as a link between Victorian traditions and the forthcoming modernist experiments.
