'Smith shows that precedents of published women's writing can be as inhibiting as enabling, and therefore disrupts any smoothly progressive model of women's literary history.' - Times Literary Supplement 'Rosalind Smith has produced a well-organized and effective work, with much to recommend it...The strength of the work lies not only in its clearly defined remit but also in Smith's ability to range effortlessly from close textual analysis to a consideration of the wider context for these works, and to dovetail literary criticism with historical insight.' - Lucinda Becker, Modern Language Review