The Cambridge Companion to Women's Writing in Britain, 1660–1789
Cambridge Companions to Literature Series

Women writers played a central role in the literature and culture of eighteenth-century Britain. Featuring essays on female writers and genres by leading scholars in the field, this Companion introduces readers to the range, significance and complexity of women's writing across multiple genres in Britain between 1660 and 1789. Divided into two parts, the Companion first discusses women's participation in print culture, featuring essays on topics such as women and popular culture, women as professional writers, women as readers and writers, and place and publication. Additionally, part one explores the ways women writers crossed generic boundaries. The second part contains chapters on many of the key genres in which women wrote including poetry, drama, fiction (early and later), history, the ballad, periodicals, and travel writing. The Companion also provides an introduction surveying the state of the field, an integrated chronology, and a guide to further reading.

Introduction Catherine Ingrassia; Part I. Women in Print Culture: 1. Women as readers and writers Mark Towsey; 2. The professional female writer Betty Schellenberg; 3. Place and publication Sarah Prescott; 4. Women and popular culture Paula R. Backscheider; 5. Genre crossings Kathryn R. King; Part II. Genres, Modes, and Forms: 6. Poetry David Shuttleton; 7. Drama Felicity Nussbaum; 8. History Rivka Swenson; 9. Satire Melinda A. Rabb; 10. Early fiction Nicola Parsons; 11. Later fiction Katherine Binhammer; 12. Travel writing Harriet Guest; 13. Ballads Ruth Perry; 14. Periodical writing Mary Waters; Guide to further reading.

Catherine Ingrassia is Professor of English at Virginia Commonwealth University. She is the author of Authorship, Commerce, and Gender in Eighteenth-Century England: A Culture of Paper Credit (Cambridge, 1998); editor of a critical edition of Eliza Haywood's Anti-Pamela and Henry Fielding's Shamela (2004); and co-editor of A Companion to the Eighteenth-Century Novel and Culture (2005) and the anthology British Women Poets of the Long Eighteenth Century (2009).