One of the earliest "New Woman" novels, Ideala (1888) tells the story of a woman who, after making a bad marriage, must decide whether to leave her husband for another man or embrace a feminist philosophy that requires her to sacrifice personal relationships for the good of other women. Told in first-person, by Idealas friend Lord Dawne, the novel details Idealas journey to understanding herself and her place in nineteenth-century society. Along the way, we see her writing poetry, providing charity to the poor, falling in love, and travelling to China, all as means to figure out how...