The Reform'd Coquette (1724) tells the story of Amoranda, a good but flighty young woman whose tendency toward careless behavior is finally tamed. Familiar Letters Betwixt a Gentleman and a Lady (1725), a satire of both political debate and women's place in society, portrays a Tory man and a Whig woman who find themselves discussing love, even though they have pledged to remain platonic friends. The Accomplish'd Rake (1727) follows the exploits of Sir John Galliard from youth to manhood, when he is forced to accept responsibility for his actions. Mary Davys...

The History of Jemmy and Jenny Jessamy, originally published as three volumes in 1753, is the last work by the prolific English novelist Eliza Haywood. Out of print since the early nineteenth century and never available in an edited and fully-annotated modern edition such as this, Haywood's novel is an important early example of the sentimental novel of domestic manners. In its depiction of marriage and courtship among the leisure class of the mid-eighteenth century, Haywood's novel is remarkable for its unsentimental realism.

The History of Jemmy and Jenny Jessamy, originally published as three volumes in 1753, is the last work by the prolific English novelist Eliza Haywood. Out of print since the early nineteenth century and never available in an edited and fully-annotated modern edition such as this, Haywood's novel is an important early example of the sentimental novel of domestic manners. In its depiction of marriage and courtship among the leisure class of the mid-eighteenth century, Haywood's novel is remarkable for its unsentimental realism.

A pioneer in the tradition of English women's fiction, Charlotte Lennox was valued friend to both Samuel Richardson and Samuel Johnson and a major influence on Jane Austen. The heroine of Charlotte Lennox's Henrietta is a young Englishwoman who resists her aunt's pressure to convert to Catholicism and is set adrift in London society. But unlike many of her passive, vulnerable contemporaries in fiction, the admirable Henrietta makes her way in the world relying on her own cleverness, conviction, and wit. This groundbreaking work of satire and human folly is republished here in a fully...

A pioneer in the tradition of English women's fiction, Charlotte Lennox was valued friend to both Samuel Richardson and Samuel Johnson and a major influence on Jane Austen. The heroine of Charlotte Lennox's Henrietta is a young Englishwoman who resists her aunt's pressure to convert to Catholicism and is set adrift in London society. But unlike many of her passive, vulnerable contemporaries in fiction, the admirable Henrietta makes her way in the world relying on her own cleverness, conviction, and wit. This groundbreaking work of satire and human folly is republished here in a fully...

Before Jane Austen's novels explored heroines in English society, writers Sarah Fielding and Jane Collier dared to provide commentary on gender and education through self-conscious narratives. Published in 1754 in five parts and divided into three volumes, The Cry stands as one of the most distinctive and intriguing works by women during the florescence of their writing in eighteenth-century England.

Strikingly experimental -- mixing fiction and philosophy, drama and exposition, satire and irony, and singular and choral voices -- The Cry revolves around a main...