Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860-1935) was a prominent American humanist, novelist, writer of short stories, poetry and non-fiction, and a lecturer for social reform. She was a utopian feminist and served as a role model for future generations of feminists because of her unorthodox concepts and lifestyle. Her best-remembered work is her semi-autobiographical short story The Yellow Wallpaper (1890) which she wrote after a severe bout of postpartum psychosis. In This Our World (1893), a collection of satirical verse, was her first volume of poetry to be published, bringing her recognition. During the next two decades she gained much of her fame with lectures on women's issues, ethics, labour, human rights, and social reform - themes she often took up in her fiction.