Explore the Modernist literary movement of the 1920s. You might want to refer to sources like A Homemade World: The American Modernist Writers by Hugh Kenner (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1989) and The First Moderns: Profiles in the Origins of Twentieth-Century Thought by William R. Everdell (University of Chicago Press, 1997). What were Katherine Mansfield's contributions to the literary avant-garde of that era? What were some other modernist innovations in poetry, art, and music?

Research a significant historical topic from the 1920s or earlier: World War I, the rise of fascism, the spread of Marxism, British imperialism, the European and American stock markets, unionism, feminism, or gay life. How did these events impact the wealthy? In what ways did they affect the poor differently?

Examine Katherine Mansfield's letters and journals. Consider how the topics she addressed relate to the themes in her fiction, particularly in "The Garden Party."