Didactic Novels and British Women's Writing, 1790-1820

This book explores how British women used the didactic novel genre to engage in political debate in novels published from 1790 to 1820. The genre was among the few acceptable ways by which women could participate in public political debate; the book reveals how it works as a corrective not just on a personal and individual level, but at the political level through its focus on issues such as inheritance, slavery, the roles of women and children, the limits of the novel, and English and Scottish nationalism. This book demonstrates how women with various ideological and educational foundations were involved in British political discourse during a time of radical partisanship and social change.