The Woman Who Did, by Grant Allen - Akasha Classics, AkashaPublishing.Com - The Woman Who Did is Grant Allen's controversial tale of rebellion and its aftermath. It follows Herminia Barton, a young woman from an impeccably respectable background who decides to set her own course in life. She and her lover move in together and have a child in defiance of social convention, but living with the consequences of these actions proves more difficult than Herminia could have imagined. The novel, first published in 1895, was heavily criticized at the time for its sympathetic portrayal of an out-of-wedlock affair. Despite Allen's stated intention to promote women's rights, his conclusions have proved problematic to feminists as well. Read The Woman Who Did for a fascinating piece of Victorian social history.