Literary Theology by Women Writers of the Nineteenth Century

Rebecca Styler is Lecturer in English at the University of Lincoln, UK.

• Introduction; Chapter 1 The Contexts of Women’s Literary Theology in the Nineteenth Century; Chapter 2 Christianity, Gender and the Public Sphere; Chapter 3 Romance, Reason and Reality in Anne Brontë’s Poetry; Chapter 4 A Scripture of Their Own; Chapter 5 Harriet Martineau; Chapter 6 Josephine Butler’s Liberation Theology;

'At a time when the role of women in relation to religion is the subject of urgent discussion, Rebecca Styler offers a balanced and wide-ranging review of some of the key literary figures of the nineteenth century, when religious developments made headline news and the "woman question" was hugely controversial. Less familiar figures such as Emma Worboise take their place alongside Anne Brontë, Harriet Martineau and Josephine Butler in a study which draws creatively upon modern scholarship, as well as historical sources.' Michael Wheeler, University of Southampton, UK 'This innovative book examines different literary genres utilized by mainly British women writers within Anglican, Methodist, and Unitarian churches to construct Christian theology that more adequately addressed salient issues of ethics, sociopolitical analysis and activism, and gender identity in the latter nineteenth century... This book will fit well within graduate-level courses regarding nineteenth-century European theology and literature, comparative theological method, and theology and genre.' Religious Studies Review ’Literary Theology by Women Writers of the Nineteenth Century usefully highlights aspects of Victorian women’s writing that have often been ignored... Styler successfully demonstrates that the featured writers generated a theology of their own that could envisage the encounter with God taking place within human events and relationships. The result is a theology thoroughly embodied in everyday life.’ Victorian Periodicals Review '... this volume does useful work in extending our knowledge of the various ways in which several lesser-known 19th-century women writers managed to use secular genres for their theological musings.' Literature and Theology 'Styler has written an interesting, original, and important book on a topic that has received too little critical attention. It is well written, well researched, and well argued: Styler’s consideration of women’s th