Who is the author of a literature of their own?

The correct option is Elaine Showalter.

A Literature of Their Own: British Women Novelists from Brontë to Lessing is a seminal work of feminist literary criticism written by the American literary scholar Elaine Showalter and published in 1977.

In this book, Showalter outlines a historical framework for describing the development of women's writing, dividing it into three distinct phases:
1. The Feminine Phase (1840–1880): During this period, female writers wrote under male pseudonyms and internalized the prevailing social and artistic standards of the dominant male culture.
2. The Feminist Phase (1880–1920): In this stage, women writers began to protest against social norms and used literature to advocate for women's rights and franchise.
3. The Female Phase (1920–present): This phase is characterized by self-discovery, where women writers move away from protesting against male standards and instead focus on uncovering and expressing their own unique female experiences and identities.

Showalter's work was highly influential in establishing gynocriticism, which is the study of women as writers, and remains a foundational text in feminist literary studies.