Mary Wollstonecraft in Context
Mary Wollstonecraft in Context
Mary Wollstonecraft (1759–1797) was one of the most influential and controversial women of her age. No writer, except perhaps her political foe, Edmund Burke, and her fellow reformer, Thomas Paine, inspired more intense reactions. In her brief literary career before her untimely death in 1797, Wollstonecraft achieved remarkable success in an unusually wide range of genres: from education tracts and political polemics, to novels and travel writing. Just as impressive as her expansive range was the profound evolution of her thinking in the decade when she flourished as an author. In this collection of essays, leading international scholars reveal the intricate biographical, critical, cultural, and historical context crucial for understanding Mary Wollstonecraft's oeuvre. Chapters on British radicalism and conservatism, French philosophes and English Dissenters, constitutional law and domestic law, sentimental literature, eighteenth-century periodicals and more elucidate Wollstonecraft's social and political thought, historical writings, moral tales for children, and novels.
- Chapters on biographical context unpack Wollstonecraft's life and relationships with family, friends, and other intellectuals
- Explains the reception of Wollstonecraft's work, from her contemporaries to the twenty-first century, with references to the most important historical analyses of her works
- Provides the most wide-ranging explanation yet of the historical period in which Wollstonecraft wrote, and its influence on her writing
- Includes chapters on British radicalism and conservatism, the rights of women debate, social and political theory, law, education, and literature
Reviews & endorsements
'An impressive showcase for the breadth and depth of current scholarship.' E. J. Clery, Times Literary Supplement
‘Contributors' cross-references to other entries in the book allow readers to follow specific lines of inquiry. Notable for its breadth, this collection positions Wollstonecraft as a major feminist writer, literary critic, and social commentator.’ C. L. Bandish, Choice
‘… Wollstonecraft in Context offers a richly veined resource to borrow, to browse, to burrow into.’ Susan J. Wolfson, The Wordsworth Circle
‘The collection successfully breathes new life into the static, and oftentimes caricatured, conception of Wollstonecraft as a pioneering feminist by giving equal valence to her work as novelist, letter writer, reviewer, educator, and translator … These collected essays succeed at nuancing Wollstonecraft’s life and work while unfolding new avenues for investigation.’ Adela Ramos, Eighteenth-Century Fiction
‘The book offers a cogent narrative for understanding Wollstonecraft’s thinking as historically grounded …’ Ashley Cross, European Romantic Review
Product details
January 2022Paperback
9781108404235
392 pages
229 × 152 × 21 mm
0.526kg
Available
Table of Contents
- Part I. Life and Works:
- 1. Biography Kate Chisholm
- 2. Correspondence Andrew McInnes
- 3. Family Julie Carlson
- 4. Joseph Johnson David Fallon
- Part II. Critical Fortunes:
- 5. Early critical reception Nancy E. Johnson
- 6. Nineteenth-century critical reception Eileen Hunt Botting
- 7. 1970s critical reception Julie Murray
- 8. Recent critical reception Eliza O'Brien
- Part III. Historical and Cultural Contexts:
- 9. Writing the French Revolution Mary A. Favret
- 10. Radical societies David O'Shaughnessy
- 11. Radical publishers Jon Mee
- 12. British conservatism Paul Keen
- 13. Jacobin reformers Mary Fairclough
- 14. Liberal reformers Michelle Levy
- 15. Conservative reformers Claire Grogan
- 16. French philosophes Sylvana Tomaselli
- 17. Dissenters Andrew McKendry
- 18. Jean-Jacques Rousseau Laura Kirkley
- 19. Edmund Burke Frans de Bruyn
- 20. William Godwin Pamela Clemit
- 21. Political theory Lena Halldenius
- 22. Feminist theory Jane Moore
- 23. The constitution Ian Ward
- 24. Property law Catherine Packham
- 25. Domestic law Rebecca Probert
- 26. Slavery and abolition Katie Donington
- 27. The Bluestockings Betty Schellenberg
- 28. Conduct literature Vivien Jones
- 29. Theories of education Frances Ferguson
- 30. Sentimentalism and sensibility Alex Wetmore
- 31. English Jacobin novels April London
- 32. Anti-Jacobin novels Gary Kelly
- 33. Children's literature Andrew O'Malley
- 34. Gothic literature Michael Gamer
- 35. Travel writing Pamela Perkins
- 36. History writing Jonathan Sachs
- 37. Periodicals Jacqueline George
- 38. Translations Alessa Johns
- Suggested further reading
- Index.
