Betty Friedan

One of the most influential books of the 20th century comes into Modern Classics. When Betty Friedan produced The Feminine Mystique in 1963, she could not have realised how the discovery and debate of her contemporaries' general malaise would shake up society. Victims of a false belief system, these women were following strict social convention by loyally conforming to the...

Fifty new books at £1 each, celebrating the pioneering spirit of the Penguin Modern Classics series, from inspiring essays to groundbreaking fiction and poetry. The Problem that Has No Name poses the question: 'What if she isn't happy - does she think men are happy in this world? Doesn't she know how lucky she is to be a woman?' The...

Landmark, groundbreaking, classic—these adjectives barely do justice to the pioneering vision and lasting impact of The Feminine Mystique. Published in 1963, it gave a pitch-perfect description of “the problem that has no name”: the insidious beliefs and institutions that undermined women’s confidence in their intellectual capabilities and kept them in the home. Writing in a time when the average woman...