The Peace in the Beehive

Alice Rivaz

“In a history of feminist ideas where amnesia is a constant threat, Alice Rivaz deserves to regain her rightful place and credit.” Mona Chollet, author of “In Defence of Witches: Why Women Are Still on Trial”

“I think I don’t love my husband anymore.” Thus opens the diary in which Jeanne recounts the disillusionment of her life with her husband Philippe. Throughout the pages, she observes her male colleagues, her husband. She notes her conversations with other women about love. And delivers a reflection without dogmatism or ideological discourse on the condition of women and their relationships with men, “in a mixture of ruthless acuity and obstinate hope” (Mona Chollet, preface writer).

About the author

Born in Lausanne, Alice Rivaz (1901-1998) moved to Geneva to live an independent life, refusing marriage and motherhood. After studying music, she became a journalist, then worked as an international civil servant. She dedicated her artistic career to denouncing the fragility of the underprivileged social classes, and to the commitment to women’s autonomy, through short stories, novels, and autobiographical texts. “The Peace in the Hives” is a milestone in her work. It shocked readers when it was published in 1947, two years before Simone de Beauvoir’s “The Second Sex”.

• More than 10K copies sold

• The diary of a woman in search for emancipation

• Outstanding female characters

• Originally published in 1947, a text by a feminist pioneer

• Preface by Mona Chollet

Willibald

Novel / 160 pages

First Printed: January 2023

Rights

WORLD FRENCH: Éditions Zoé

English excerpt available