Katherine Mansfield was a native of New Zealand but settled in England when she was nineteen years old. A very talented author, she authored short stories, poetry, letters, journals, and reviews. She passed on at the tender age of thirty- four years, having left an indelible mark in the literary world. Katherine Mansfield was one of the pioneers of the modern short story. Her style of writing evoked emotions and feelings. From her writings, Katherine Mansfield comes out as an author who is particularly interested in exploring female identity and sexuality (Tomalin, 2012). Katherine had the objective of empowering women in the society through the portrayal of the contemporary family life. She was an original when it came to her writings and the way she lived her life– liberal life.
An interesting aspect that stands out in the biography is that the author prefers to use the present tense in some sections instead of past tense. Though it is a controversial matter, the use of present tenses in the biography allows the reader to re-live Katherine Mansfield’s life seamlessly. Present tense also doesn’t allow the author to give any authorial comment while biographical mode allows the use of author comments. This helps in keeping the biography free from the author’s judgment while allowing the reader to read Katherine Mansfield life moment by moment. The use of Katherine Mansfield’s letters and diaries also enable the reader to connect the small bits in her life.
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The author also uses the circular strategy in writing the biography (Bank, 2010). In this way, the biographer begins the first chapter with the death of Katherine Mansfield. The author explains that this is a strategy to end the book on a “going forward note” into the future. It is an essential strategy as it keeps the reader in suspense, an important aspect of literature and also continues to give life to the work as Katherine Mansfield’s works did not die following her passing on but they went on and are still alive.
References
Bank, R. D. (2010). The everything guide to writing nonfiction: All you need to write and sell exceptional nonfiction books, articles, essays, reviews, and memoirs . Avon, MA: Adams Media.
Tomalin, C. (2012). Katherine Mansfield: A secret life . London: Penguin.
