Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- 1 Public women: the Restoration to the death of Aphra Behn, 1660–1689
- 2 Partisans of virtue and religion, 1689–1702
- 3 Politics, gallantry, and ladies in the reign of Queen Anne, 1702–1714
- 4 Battle joined, 1715–1737
- 5 Women as members of the literary family, 1737–1756
- 6 Bluestockings and sentimental writers, 1756–1776
- 7 Romance and comedy, 1777–1789
- Notes
- Recommended modern editions
- Select bibliography
- Index
2 - Partisans of virtue and religion, 1689–1702
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 06 November 2009
Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- 1 Public women: the Restoration to the death of Aphra Behn, 1660–1689
- 2 Partisans of virtue and religion, 1689–1702
- 3 Politics, gallantry, and ladies in the reign of Queen Anne, 1702–1714
- 4 Battle joined, 1715–1737
- 5 Women as members of the literary family, 1737–1756
- 6 Bluestockings and sentimental writers, 1756–1776
- 7 Romance and comedy, 1777–1789
- Notes
- Recommended modern editions
- Select bibliography
- Index
Summary
TEXTS
1690 [Damaris Cudworth Masham]. A Discourse Concerning the Love of God
1694 [Mary Astell]. A Serious Proposal to the Ladies, for the Advancement of their True and Greatest Interest. By a Lover of her Sex
1696 [Elizabeth Singer Rowe]. Poems on Several Occasions. By Philomela
1696 [Judith Drake]. An Essay in Defence of the Female Sex… Written by a Lady
1696 Delarivière Manley. The Royal Mischief. A Tragedy
1697 Mary Astell. A Serious Proposal to the Ladies. Part II. Wherein a Method is offer'd for the Improvement of their Minds
1698 Catharine Trotter. The Fatal Friendship. A Tragedy
1700 Mary Astell. Some Reflections upon Marriage, Occasion'd by the Duke and Duchess of Mazarine's case; which is also consider'd
1700 Mary Pix. The Beau Defeated; or, The Lucky Younger Brother. A Comedy
1700 The Nine Muses; or, poems written by nine several ladies, upon the death of the famous John Dryden, Esq.
INTRODUCTION
During the reign of William and Mary (1689–1702) religious and pious people interested themselves in developing their own spiritual lives and in making common cause against skeptics about religion, libertines, and people they considered to be behaving immorally. As I noted in the previous chapter, women in the seventeenth century had composed devotional books that were occasionally published. In the reign of the Roman Catholic James II (1685–88), Catholic writers, freed from censorship, published devotional and apologetic literature. They claimed that Catholic devotional literature, including that written by the Catholic female saints, abbesses, and laywomen, was far superior to what Protestants had produced.
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- A Literary History of Women's Writing in Britain, 1660–1789 , pp. 90 - 121Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2006
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