In Love and Struggle

In Love and Struggle: Letters in Contemporary Feminism, authored by Margaretta Jolly and published by Columbia University Press in 2008, serves as a scholarly investigation into the role of letter writing within the women’s liberation movement of the late twentieth century. Jolly, a reader in cultural studies at the University of Sussex, conceived the work to bridge the gap between private correspondence and public political history, exploring how personal intimacy fueled collective activism.

The design and narrative structure of the book draw upon extensive archival research, centering on the epistolary exchanges of prominent feminist figures such as Sheila Rowbotham and Carolyn Steedman. By framing these letters as a distinct literary and political genre, Jolly sought to provide a nuanced look at the emotional labor behind radical social change. Upon its release, the volume was received as a significant contribution to feminist history and literary criticism, noted for its archival rigor and its ability to contextualize the private lives of activists within the broader historical tapestry of the era.