Eighteenth-Century Women and the Arts - (Contributions in Women's Studies) by Frederick M Keener & Susan E Lorsch (Hardcover)

About the Book

A major task confronting today's scholars is the reclamation from near oblivion of a multitude of works of art, literature, music, scholarship, and other creative enterprises by eighteenth-century women. This fascinating collection provides a multifaceted approach to understanding the roles played by women as both creators of and subjects within works of art in the eighteenth century.

A series of initial essays examines the biographical and historical conditions in which women of the times lived and worked. Some essays explore the attitudes of women themselves and how they perceived their roles, as well as their expectations expressed by male authors. Other essays focus on women's contributions to particular arts, notably poetry, the novel, music, and painting. A final section attends to research itself, reporting first on collaborative efforts to identify individual eighteenth-century women authors and discover trends in their writing. In addition, an alternative to the traditional scholarly methods course is provided in an example of the original research directed toward the rediscovery and understanding of the texts of Elizabeth Griffeth. This entertaining collection will foster new appreciation for the presence of women in the arts of the eighteenth century. An important contribution to women's studies, this volume is sure to be of special interest to students and scholars alike.

Book Synopsis

A major task confronting today's scholars is the reclamation from near oblivion of a multitude of works of art, literature, music, scholarship, and other creative enterprises by eighteenth-century women. This fascinating collection provides a multifaceted approach to understanding the roles played by women as both creators of and subjects within works of art in the eighteenth century.

A series of initial essays examines the biographical and historical conditions in which women of the times lived and worked. Some essays explore the attitudes of women themselves and how they perceived their roles, as well as their expectations expressed by male authors. Other essays focus on women's contributions to particular arts, notably poetry, the novel, music, and painting. A final section attends to research itself, reporting first on collaborative efforts to identify individual eighteenth-century women authors and discover trends in their writing. In addition, an alternative to the traditional scholarly methods course is provided in an example of the original research directed toward the rediscovery and understanding of the texts of Elizabeth Griffeth. This entertaining collection will foster new appreciation for the presence of women in the arts of the eighteenth century. An important contribution to women's studies, this volume is sure to be of special interest to students and scholars alike.

Review Quotes

?This is a collection of papers, 29 in total, selected from the Conference on 18th Century Women and the Arts held at Hofstra University in 1985. The average length of each paper is about ten pages and they are organised in five sections: (1) the enlightenment; (2) poetry; (3) the novel; (4) music and painting; and (5) research. Many of the papers provide biographical material on neglected women writers and artists but there are also presentations on attitudes towards women in the 18th century as expressed in the work of, for example, Fielding, Gibbon. Beaumarchais and Hogarth. Amongst the women subjects are Frances Brooke, Margaret Cavendish, Hannah Cowley, Mary Whateley, Maria Edgeworth. Angelica Kauffman and Vigee Le Brun. There is only one article on music called Women Musicians in Venice', the rest of that section is on painting. The final section on research is based on an extended seminar held at Brandeis University where students worked on editing the work of Elizabeth Griffith as a practical application of the textual problems involved in rescuing the work of lost authors. There is an index, notes on contributors and 15 black and white illustrations.?-Studies On Women

?Until recently relatively few studies narrowed the focus to the contributions and perspectives of eighteenth-century women: scholarly research into the historical and biographical perspectives of the times was required, and few treatises on the subject provided references for research sources. This collection narrows the focus to female contributions in the arts, which encompass not only painting, but the literary arts, as well. The task is no easy one: scholars must literally rescue accounts of women of the times from the archives of obscurity, recreating the facts of their important enterprises and placing them within historical context. 18th Century Women and the Arts succeeds admirably in its research goals. Each contributor undertakes a specific 18th century personality or perspective, placing the woman's achievement within the perspective of the achievements and atmosphere of her times, and identifying societal gender traits and ideas systems which made these contributions unique and extraordinary. Discussions range from an examination of British women poets from 1660-1800 to the literary origins of the female perspective in literary writings. These are not general essays: specific women and their achievements form the foundation for each essay's perspective and examination, and the title includes a broad range of ideas and revelations. A must' for any who would receive a thorough scholarly grounding in women's history.?-The Midwest Book Review

"This is a collection of papers, 29 in total, selected from the Conference on 18th Century Women and the Arts held at Hofstra University in 1985. The average length of each paper is about ten pages and they are organised in five sections: (1) the enlightenment; (2) poetry; (3) the novel; (4) music and painting; and (5) research. Many of the papers provide biographical material on neglected women writers and artists but there are also presentations on attitudes towards women in the 18th century as expressed in the work of, for example, Fielding, Gibbon. Beaumarchais and Hogarth. Amongst the women subjects are Frances Brooke, Margaret Cavendish, Hannah Cowley, Mary Whateley, Maria Edgeworth. Angelica Kauffman and Vigee Le Brun. There is only one article on music called Women Musicians in Venice', the rest of that section is on painting. The final section on research is based on an extended seminar held at Brandeis University where students worked on editing the work of Elizabeth Griffith as a practical application of the textual problems involved in rescuing the work of lost authors. There is an index, notes on contributors and 15 black and white illustrations."-Studies On Women

"Until recently relatively few studies narrowed the focus to the contributions and perspectives of eighteenth-century women: scholarly research into the historical and biographical perspectives of the times was required, and few treatises on the subject provided references for research sources. This collection narrows the focus to female contributions in the arts, which encompass not only painting, but the literary arts, as well. The task is no easy one: scholars must literally rescue accounts of women of the times from the archives of obscurity, recreating the facts of their important enterprises and placing them within historical context. 18th Century Women and the Arts succeeds admirably in its research goals. Each contributor undertakes a specific 18th century personality or perspective, placing the woman's achievement within the perspective of the achievements and atmosphere of her times, and identifying societal gender traits and ideas systems which made these contributions unique and extraordinary. Discussions range from an examination of British women poets from 1660-1800 to the literary origins of the female perspective in literary writings. These are not general essays: specific women and their achievements form the foundation for each essay's perspective and examination, and the title includes a broad range of ideas and revelations. A must' for any who would receive a thorough scholarly grounding in women's history."-The Midwest Book Review

About the Author

FREDERICK M. KEENER is Professor of English at Hofstra University. He is the author of English Dialogues of the Dead, An Essay on Pope, The Chain of Becoming, and articles and chapters in books.

SUSAN E. LORSCH is Associate Professor of English at Hofstra University. She is the author of Where Nature Ends and articles in Film Literature Quarterly, The Dalhousie Review, and Papers on Language & Literature, among others.