In 1926 and 1927, the Nation published 17 anonymous essays by "women active in professional and public life."  The editor's objective was "to discover the origin of their modern point of view toward men, marriage, children, and jobs." In her introduction, Elaine Showalter discusses the issues raised -— from alcoholism to celibacy, from mother-daughter relationships to politics -— and identifies and examines the lives of the authors, among whom are Crystal Eastman, Mary Austin, and Genevieve Taggard.