Best known work

• The Yellow Wallpaper, 1892

Other well known work(s)

• Women and Economics, 1898

Genres

• Fiction - Novels
• Fiction - Short Stories
• Poetry
• Plays
• Journalism
• Politics / Philosophy / Essays

Nom de plume

Charlotte Anna Perkins Stetson

Social class

Middle class

Parental background

Her father was a writer and editor. Her schooling was erratic due to financial hardship.

At publication of best known work

• Age: 32
• Marital status: Separated
• Number of children: 1

Physical description

Described by her friend Harriet (Hattie) Lowe as "a slender woman, seeming on the [lecturing] platform even smaller than she really was, with―Eyes! Such eyes, magnetic, far reaching, deep seeing" (from Charlotte Perkins Gilman: A Biography by Cynthia Davis). She had "intense brown eyes and long face [...] prominent nose and dimpled chin" (Ibid).

Did you know?

Perkins Gilman was the great niece of Harriet Beecher Stowe, bestselling author of Uncle Tom's Cabin.

Additional information

The Charlotte Perkins Gilman Society pages can be found on the archived site. There are some useful links signposted from the site including works available online, biographical information and scholarly articles.