Living by the Pen: Women Writers in the Eighteenth Century

272 Pages·1992·2.11 MB·English

by  Cheryl Turner

LIVING BY THE PEN

LIVING BY THE PEN

Women writers in the eighteenth century

Cheryl Turner

London and New York
First published 1992

This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2002.

Paperback edition published 1994
by Routledge
11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE

Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001

© 1992, 1994 Cheryl Turner
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic,
mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter
invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any
information storage or retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publishers.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Turner, Cheryl
Living by the pen: women writers in the eighteenth century/
by Cheryl Turner,
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. English fiction—Women authors—History and criticism.
2. Women and literature—Great Britain-History—18th century.
3. Authors and publishers—Great Britain—History—18th
century. 4. Women—Great Britain-Books and reading—
History—18th century. 5. English fiction—18th century—
History and criticism. 6. Women novelists. English—18th
century—Biography. 7. Authorship—Sex differences. I. Title.
PR8¢58.W6T8 1992
823.5099287–dc20 91–45967

ISBN 0-203-16014-2 Master e-book ISBN

ISBN 0-203-16017-7 (Adobe eReader Format)
ISBN 0-415-04411-1 (hbk)
ISBN 0-415-11196-X (pbk)
For my parents, Betty and Bruce Turner

CONTENTS

List of figures viii
Acknowledgements ix
INTRODUCTION 1
1 EARLIER INTERPRETATIONS OF THE DEVELOPMENT
OF EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY WOMEN’S FICTION 5
2 SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY FOUNDATIONS 18
3 THE GROWTH OF EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY WOMEN’S
FICTION 31
4 PROFESSIONAL AUTHORSHIP—THE ALTERNATIVES
FOR WOMEN 60
5 WOMEN NOVELISTS AND THEIR PUBLISHERS 83
6 PROFESSIONAL WOMEN NOVELISTS—EARNING AN
INCOME 102
7 ACCESS TO WOMEN’S FICTION 127
APPENDIX A
A Catalogue of women’s fiction published in book form 1696–1796 152
APPENDIX B
A chronological list of women authors 1696–1796 212
Notes 217
Bibliography 236
Index 251

vii
FIGURES

1 Annual totals of women’s novels 1696–1796 35
2 Five-year moving average of annual totals of women’s novels
1696–1796 35
3 Annual totals of women novelists (1696–1796) produced by
viewing a woman as a novelist for the period between her first
and last publications 36
4 Annual totals of women novelists (1696–1796) produced by
viewing a woman as a novelist for five-year periods centred
on the dates of her publications 37
5 Mean average number of novels per novelist for five-year
periods centred on each year between 1696 and 1796 37

viii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This study has been achieved through the co-operation and goodwill of many
people. In particular, I would like to thank Professor Bob Coats for the support
he gave me as supervisor of my Ph.D. and for his interest in my subsequent
work, and Dr Alan Rodway, Dr Helen Meller, Nick Ryan, and Dan Smith for
their help with the original thesis. I am also very grateful to Elaine Hobby
and Jane Spencer for their comments on various drafts of the book, and to
Helena Reckitt, Talia Rodgers, and Julia Hall at Routledge for their patience
and encouragement.
Thanks are due to the staff at various libraries who have dealt promptly
with many enquiries, particularly at the British Library, the Bodleian, the
National Library of Wales, and the libraries at Birmingham, Keele,
Nottingham, and Sheffield Universities and at North Staffordshire Polytechnic.
I am indebted to the Social Science Research Council for the grant which
made the initial research possible, and to the Workers’ Educational Association
(East Midland District) for the extended leave which helped me to complete
the manuscript of the book.
I should like to express my appreciation of the encouragement and ideas
given to me over the years by my students, whose enthusiasm for women’s
writing in the eighteenth century has been a joy to share. Finally, my special
thanks goes to Mike Attwell, who has seen me through all the stages and
given me unstinting support throughout; his generosity has made this possible.
Needless to say, the errors are all my own.
ix