Doris Lessing

British novelist and short-story writer Doris Lessing (1919- ) became known as a perceptive seeker of the self and of feminine identity. Her novel The Golden Notebook (1962) is often considered a classic of feminist literature.

Lessing was born Doris May Tayler in Persia - now Iran, raised in Southern Rhodesia - now Zimbabwe) and finally she moved to England in 1949. Her main works consist of Children of Violence (1952-1969), an autobiographical account of the main character called Martha Quest; and her most famous novel The Golden Notebook (1962).

The Golden Notebook became a classic of feminist literature due to its experimental style and creativity, self discovery, and feminine identity. Her first novel, The Grass Is Singing (1950) was set in Africa. She also wrote a group of short stories called African Stories (1951).

Lessing is a prolific writer, and has written many novels such as Briefing for a Descent into Hell (1971), The Summer Before the Dark (1973), The Marriages Between Zones Three, Four and Five (1980), The Sirian Experiments (1981), The Fifth Child (1988), Love, Again (1996), and Mara and Dann: An Adventure (1999). She wrote many volumes of short stories such as This Was the Old Chief's Country (1952), The Habit of Loving (1957), African Stories (1964), The Story of a Non-Marrying Man (1972), and The Sun Between Their Feet(1973).

In Pursuit of the English (1960) is a volume of her recollections. She has also written two volumes of autobiography, Under My Skin: My Autobiography to 1949 (1994) and Walking in the Shade: My Autobiography, 1949-1962 (1997).