Modelling Age: Ageing Women Writers and Their Readers (Annie Ernaux, Margaret Drabble)

Abstract Annie Ernaux and Margaret Drabble, both now in their eighties, are writers who throughout long careers have charted the life course of women generation. Ernaux’s Les Années (2008) Drabble’s The Dark Flood Rises (2016) share a focus on late — I argue here represent cases what Kathleen Woodward once defined as much-needed feminist remodelling old age. In this comparative analysis, identify elements shared across these two generically stylistically quite different works: unromantic yet positive depiction ageing women; treatment time relations between individual self collectivity; relationship each constructs author reader. differences them arguably point to specificities French UK culture, notably terms relative importance attributes sexuality course. Overall, works converge more than they diverge providing vision age feminine that is at clear-sighted powerfully affirmative.