''The Two of Them'' is a

feminist science fiction Feminist science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction (abbreviated "SF") focused on theories that include feminist themes including but not limited to gender inequality, sexuality, race, economics, reproduction, and environment. Feminist SF ...

novel by

Joanna Russ Joanna Russ (February 22, 1937 – April 29, 2011) was an American writer, academic and feminist. She is the author of a number of works of science fiction, fantasy and feminist literary criticism such as ''How to Suppress Women's Writing'', as w ...

. It was first published in 1978 in the United States by Berkley Books and in Great Britain by

The Women's Press The Women's Press was a feminist publishing company established in London in 1977. Throughout the late 1970s and the 1980s, the Women's Press was a highly visible presence, publishing feminist literature. Founding In 1977, Stephanie Dowrick cof ...

in 1986. It was last reissued in 2005 by the

Wesleyan University Press Wesleyan University Press is a university press that is part of Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. The press is currently directed by Suzanna Tamminen, a published poet and essayist. History and overview Founded (in its present form ...

with a foreword by Sarah LeFanu.

Plot

Irene, a female galactic agent, rescues a young woman, Zubeydeh, from a male-dominant culture of a colonized planet, Ala-ed-deen, where women are kept in

purdah Pardah or purdah (from Hindi-Urdu , , meaning "curtain") is a religious and social practice of female seclusion prevalent among some Muslim and Hindu communities. It takes two forms: physical segregation of the sexes and the requirement that wom ...

Background

This novel uses characters and a setting from Suzette Haden Elgin's short story "For The Sake Of Grace," with Elgin's permission. Russ discloses this in the novel's dedication page.

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * Clute, John and Peter Nicholls. ''

The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction ''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'' (SFE) is an English language reference work on science fiction, first published in 1979. It has won the Hugo, Locus and British SF Awards. Two print editions appeared in 1979 and 1993. A third, continu ...

''. New York: St. Martin's Griffin, 1993 (2nd edition 1995). . * Cortiel, Jeanne. "Demand My Writing: Joanna Russ/Feminism/Science Fiction" in ''Science Fiction Texts and Studies''. Liverpool, UK: Liverpool University Press, 1999. pp. 64–70, 104-121. . * Spencer, Kathleen L. "Rescuing the Female Child: The Fiction of Joanna Russ" ''Science Fiction Studies'' 17.2 (1990): pp. 167–187.

External links

* * 1978 American novels 1978 science fiction novels American science fiction novels Feminist science fiction novels Berkley Books books Works by Joanna Russ {{1970s-sf-novel-stub