The Female Man (1975) Signed First Edition Reference

The Female Man is Joanna Russ’s masterpiece and one of the most important novels in the history of feminist science fiction. Published by Bantam Books in 1975, the novel follows four women from parallel worlds — Joanna from our reality, Jeannine from a world where the Depression never ended, Janet from the all-female utopia of Whileaway, and Jael from a world where the sexes are literally at war. Written between 1968 and 1971, the novel was rejected by publishers for years before Bantam finally accepted it.

The Book

The Female Man is formally experimental — fragmentary, angry, funny, and structurally innovative. Russ breaks the fourth wall, addresses the reader directly, and refuses the consolations of conventional narrative closure. The novel’s rage is specific and directed, but its imagination is generous — Whileaway is one of science fiction’s most fully realized utopias, and the contrasts between the four worlds illuminate the contingency of gender arrangements with devastating clarity.

First Edition Identification

Publisher: Bantam Books, New York Publication date: 1975 Format: Mass market paperback (paperback original)

No hardcover first edition exists from the original publication. The Bantam paperback is the true first.

Signed Copy Market Values

• Signed Bantam paperback first, very good: $200–$600
• Unsigned Bantam paperback: $20–$60

The mass market paperback format makes condition a significant challenge. Russ’s limited signing activity makes signed copies genuinely scarce. A signed first in near-fine condition is a rare find.