Shutter of Snow - Paperback

by Emily Holmes Coleman (Author), Joanna Biggs (Introduction by)

A tragic, visceral portrayal of motherhood and mental illness.

In a prose form as startling as its content, The Shutter of Snow portrays the postpartum fever dream of Marthe Gail, who after giving birth to her son, is committed to an insane asylum. Believing herself to be God, she maneuvers through an institutional world that is both sad and terrifying, echoing the worlds of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and The Bell Jar.

Based upon the author's own experience after the birth of her son in 1924, The Shutter of Snow retains all the energy it had when first published in 1930.

Author Biography

Emily Holmes Coleman was an American-born poet, novelist and diarist of the 20th century who lived much of her life in France and England. In 1930 she wrote one semi-autobiographical novel, The Shutter of Snow, which was the story of a woman incarcerated in a mental hospital.

Joanna Biggs is the author of A Life of One's Own: Nine Women Writers Begin Again. Born in London, she lives in New York and New Haven, and works as the deputy editor of The Yale Review.