The Return of the Petticoat

This novel by Warwick Deeping was quite controversial when it was first published in 1909. The subject matter was one rarely discussed in private, and certainly not in novels of the time - that of a young woman with a conflicted gender identity. In this brilliantly written story, a well-to-do young woman is disenchanted with her life and yearns for the freedom she believes belongs only to a man. She renounces feminine attire, dresses as a man, takes the name of Richard Dathan, and purchases a gentleman's farm near the sea in the south country of England. There she (he) settles down to live a life of perfect freedom, close to Nature in the open air. After a few months at the farm, Cupid takes a hand in the game, for she (he) falls in love with the man who helps manage the farm. How this situation is resolved leads to a most interesting story with a dramatic finale. Hardback copies of this novel are quite rare. This new softcover version provides contemporary readers of Warwick Deeping with an opportunity to enjoy the portrayal of this complex situation by this master story-teller. Since this is a pre-1923 work, it is not in copyright in the U.S. or Canada or Australia. Due to copyright restrictions, this is only available for sale in these countries. Unlike other reproductions of early works, this is NOT an error prone OCR version of the original book. The text has been completely retyped and proofed. This version is from the 1913 slightly revised edition (by the author) of the original 1909 release.