Sign-In
Cart
The Beehive
Paperback
Science FictionClassic FictionGeneral Fiction
ISBN13: 9781960241207
Publisher: Valancourt Books
Published: Sep 24 2024
Pages: 238
Weight: 0.58
Height: 0.54 Width: 5.00 Depth: 8.00
Language: English
A lost classic of feminist dystopian fiction, the forerunner to The Handmaid's Tale, back in print at last
After an economic collapse, the dictator Gorston has risen to power by blaming women for taking men's jobs. In Gorston's new society, girls are assigned at age ten either to become dutiful wives and mothers or do menial work men refuse to do. These women workers are the 'Grey Ones, ' brainwashed into accepting their servile state, forced to wear their clothes and hair grey and forbidden to interact with men. But one of the Grey Ones, Hillard, has determined to fight back. She has recruited an underground army of women ready to rise up and overthrow Gorston, but first she will have to contend with his ruthless head of secret police, Steiner, who is determined to root out the conspiracy and crush it at any cost . . .
The only novel by Margaret O'Donnell (1932-2019), who helped lead the movement to legalize contraception in Ireland, The Beehive (1980) shares common themes and plot elements with Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, which came out five years later. Largely overlooked on its initial publication, it deserves reconsideration as a classic of modern dystopian fiction.
Also in
Science Fiction
On the Calculation of Volume (Book I): Shortlisted for the 2025 International Booker Prize
Balle, Solvej
Paperback
Red Rising 3-Book Box Set: Red Rising, Golden Son, Morning Star, and an Exclusive Extended Excerpt of Iron Gold
Brown, Pierce
Paperback