Annotated Bibliography
Bennett, Judith M. and Froide, Amy M. (ed.). Singlewomen in the European Past
1250- 1800. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1999.
Bennett and Froide discuss various aspects of being a single woman in Europe, from lesbian relationships to economic independence. They cite specific examples of single women in life and in fiction, and discuss their lives and behaviors, as well as how they were viewed in society.
Bilger, Audrey. Laughing Feminism: Subversive Comedy in Frances Burney, Maria Edgeworth and Jane Austen. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1995.
A discussion of laughter and manners as they were pertinent to women of the Eighteenth Century opens Bilger’s work. The idea of female laughter continues throughout the book, as she examines passages from the three title authors’ novels, as well as their personal notes and letters. All of these examples suggest that they did not hold with the popular notion that laughter was not proper female behavior. Bilger argues that these three authors in fact challenged the practiced behaviors of the time and rebelled against them.
Burney, Frances. Evelina. London: Penguin Classics, 1994.
Burney's novel about a young woman's coming of age search for self reveals the author's penchant for humor in a subtle way.
Chalus, Elaine and Barker, Hannah. Gender in Eighteenth-Century England. London and New York: Longmand Limited, 1997.
A general overview of women's lives in Eighteenth Century England and how gender affected women on a daily basis.
Crawford and Mendelson. Women in Early Modern England 1550-1720. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1998.
Crawford and Mendelson examine women's lives in England over two centuries and examine what things changed and how they influenced the quality of women's lives.
Defoe, Daniel. Roxana, The Fortunate Mistress. London: Oxford University Press, 1964.
Defoe’s novel about a woman who enjoys economic independence, travel, and a string of lovers, all of which ultimately lead to her downfall in society.
Donoghue, Emma. Passions Between Women. London: Scarlet Press, 1993.
A comprehensive study of lesbian relationships in eighteenth century England.
Fletcher, Anthony. Gender, Sex and Subordination in England 1500-1800. New Haven: Yale University Press New Haven, 1995.
Fletcher examines the influence of gender on eighteenth century women's lives.
Gerzuna, Gretchen. Black London: Life Before Emancipation. New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 1995.
This book gives accounts of what it was like living as a minority in Eighteenth Century England.
Harvey, A.D. Sex in Georgian England. London: Duckworth Press 1994.
Always a taboo subject, Harvey reveals what people were doing and saying with regards to sex in the eighteenth century.
Klausmann, Ulrike, et. al. Women Pirates and the Politics of the Jolly Roger. New York: Black Rose Books, Ltd., 1997.
This book gives individual overviews of several women pirates from around the world, and is grouped according to geography. An easy to read format, the authors include basic biographical information, along with quotations and background information.
Pennell, C.R., (ed.). Bandits at Sea: A Pirates Reader. New York: New York University Press, 2001.
Parnell offers information about the infamous female pirate Mary Read, and discusses her upbringing, foray into the world at sea, and adventures thereafter. Parnell also gives general information about female piracy, and argues that the profession was much more common than previously believed.
Porter, Rousseau Roy. Sexual Underworlds of the Enlightenment. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1988.
Porter includes information on clandestine sexual rendezvous.
Quaife, G.R. Wanton Wenches and Wayward Wives. London: Croom Helm, Ltd., 1979.
Quaife examines the underlying reasons for prostitution, what types of women became prostitutes, and what their lives entailed.
Richardson, Samuel. Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded. New York: Penguin Putnam, Inc.,1980.
Richardson’s novel about a fifteen-year-old maidservant who protests against her master’s sexual advances and retains her virtue at all costs.
Scheuermann, Mona. Her Bread to Earn: Women, Money, and Society from Defoe to Austen. Lexington: Univ. of Kentucky Press, 1993.
Scheuermann writes of the literary tradition of women's work and includes information and analysis of famous characters and how their lives relate to real life situations and instances.
Sharpe, Pamela, ed. Women's Work: The English Experience 1650-1914. New York: Oxford University Press Inc., 1998.
A look at women earning their own keep at a time when the term "working woman" referred to prostitutes.
Spacks, Patricia Meyer. "Ev'ry Woman is at Heart a Rake" Eighteenth-Century Studies, Vol. 8, No. 1. (Autumn, 1974), pp. 27-46.
A closer look at women's feelings and representations
in literature regarding sexual promiscuity.
Yeazell, Ruth. Fictions of Modesty: women and courtship in the English novel. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press, 1984.
Yeazell shows how English literature influenced
and was influenced by issues of male/female love relationships.