A timeless piece of feminist literature, the story follows a series of journal entries made by a woman diagnosed with hysterical tendencies by her doctor and husband. Barred from working for her "nerves", she is confined to the nursery in an old New England colonial mansion to recuperate. Trapped in this room with barred windows and sickly yellow wallpaper, she begins writing in secret as she starts to feel the walls mutate around her. The wallpaper is animate, shifting and writhing, changing before her in the moonlight. There is someone in the walls, she knows it. Drawing on elements of horror and the gothic, Gilman masterfully shows a woman on the brink of postpartum psychosis. It is a haunting tale of the dangers of social seclusion and cultural starvation, as well as flippant attitudes towards women's health - many of which still prevail today. Perfect for fans of "Mexican Gothic" by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Bronte, and "Rebecca" by Daphne Du Maurier.
