Early Modern Englishwomen Testing Ideas

Jo Wallwork is Honorary Associate in the English Program, School of Communication, Arts and Critical Enquiry, La Trobe University, Australia. Paul Salzman is Reader and Associate Professor of English at La Trobe University, Australia.

• Introduction; Part I Philosophy and Science; Chapter 1 Mary Astell's Machiavellian Moment? Politics and Feminism in Moderation truly Stated, Jacqueline Broad; Chapter 2 ‘that you may, be]... as wise as Angels’: the Religious Foundations of Mary Astell's Proposal for the Ladies, Parts I and II, Michal Michelson; Chapter 3 Disruptive Behaviour in the Making of Science: Cavendish and the Community of Seventeenth-Century Science, Jo Wallwork; Chapter 4 The Magnetic Attraction of Margaret Cavendish and Walter Charleton, L.E Semler; Part II Women and Drama; Chapter 5 ‘Yes, and’: Margaret Cavendish, the Passions and Hermaphrodite Agency, Alexandra G. Bennett; Chapter 6 Virginian Culture and Experimental Genre in Aphra Behn's The Widow Ranter, David McInnis; Part III Politics and Intrigue; Chapter 7 ‘La Femme Forte’: Katherine Philips and the Politics of her Dublin Writings, 1662-3, Rosalinde Schut; Chapter 8 Narrative Person, Perspective and Voice in Eliza Haywood's The Adventures of Eovaai, Joanna Fowler;

'This collection is a timely addition to the growing body of work on this topic. And the range of essays in the collection offers readings of women with such diverse interests and backgrounds as Mary Astell, Margaret Cavendish, Katherine Phillips, Eliza Haywood, and Aphra Behn.' British Society for Literature and Science 'This collection of new essays provides a welcome addition to Ashgate’s significant body of work on early modern women’s writing. Including a nice balance of essays between established scholars and new researchers, this volume covers printed texts of a relatively small range of major writers from the mid-seventeenth century to the early eighteenth century: there are chapters on works by Mary Astell, Margaret Cavendish, Aphra Behn, Katherine Philips and Eliza Haywood.' Literature & History '... the essays do present an interesting view of the types of writing women were engaging in during this period.' Sixteenth Century Studies