Herland was followed by a sequel, With Her in Ourland, which picks up the story of Van and Ellador immediately following their departure from Herland. Bereft and unwilling to endure the pain late-stage cancer would cause, Charlotte chose to end her life by suicide several months later, on August 17, 1935. Gilman continued to write until 1935 when a doctor diagnosed her with incurable breast cancer. After Houghton’s death, Gilman moved back to Pasadena, where her daughter was living. They never had children together and, in 1922, Houghton died suddenly.

She met her cousin, Houghton Gilman, and the two married in 1900. After living in Pasadena for several years, Charlotte moved back east. In Pasadena, Charlotte became involved women’s rights activism, which can be felt throughout many of her fictional works. Charlotte and her daughter moved to Pasadena, California, but Charlotte sent Katharine back to Charles when he married his second wife.

Following Katharine’s birth, Charlotte entered a deep depression and was given the infamous “rest cure” that would inspire her famous short story “The Yellow Wallpaper.” Eventually, Charlotte took the unusual step of separating from her husband, ultimately divorcing him in 1894. When Charlotte was 24, she married Charles Walter Stetson and the two had their only child, Katharine Beecher Stetson, the next year. Still, Charlotte was able to go to school sporadically and enjoyed spending her free time in the local library. Charlotte’s father, Frederic Beecher Perkins, abandoned her, her mother, and her older brother when Charlotte was very young, leaving the family impoverished.

Charlotte Perkins Gilman was born on Jin Hartford, Connecticut.

Herland novel