Book at Lunchtime welcomes Dr Kate Kirkpatrick, Tutorial Fellow in Philosophy and Christian Ethics at Regent's Park College to discuss her book "Becoming Beauvoir: A Life".
A symbol of liberated womanhood, Simone de Beauvoir's unconventional relationships inspired and scandalised her generation. A philosopher, writer, and feminist icon, she won prestigious literary prizes and transformed the way we think about gender with The Second Sex. But despite her successes, she wondered if she had sold herself short.
Her liaison with Jean-Paul Sartre has been billed as one of the most legendary love affairs of the twentieth century. But for Beauvoir it came at a cost: for decades she was dismissed as an unoriginal thinker who 'applied' Sartre's ideas. In recent years new material has come to light revealing the ingenuity of Beauvoir's own philosophy and the importance of other lovers in her life.
This ground-breaking biography draws on never-before-published diaries and letters to tell the fascinating story of how Simone de Beauvoir became herself.
“A book to be read slowly and savoured.”— The Sunday Times
“In her excellent new biography, Kate Kirkpatrick […] shows us why we’ve much more to learn from Beauvoir.” — New Statesman
“A beautiful tribute to a remarkable woman.” — Times Higher Education
“Beauvoir is well overdue for the philosophical credit she deserves, and this book is an important step in correcting the narrative.” — Los Angeles Review of Books
“In Kirkpatrick’s biography, Beauvoir is restored to her full body of work, her full complexity, her full bravery.”— Literary Review
Join Kate and an expert panel at 12.30pm for lunch and for the discussion from 1pm-2pm.
Book your place here.
