Anna Seward: A Constructed Life

A Critical Biography

Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism
Cover of the book Anna Seward: A Constructed Life by Teresa Barnard, Taylor and Francis
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Teresa Barnard ISBN: 9781317180661
Publisher: Taylor and Francis Publication: April 15, 2016
Imprint: Routledge Language: English
Author: Teresa Barnard
ISBN: 9781317180661
Publisher: Taylor and Francis
Publication: April 15, 2016
Imprint: Routledge
Language: English

In her critical biography of Anna Seward (1742-1809), Teresa Barnard examines the poet's unpublished letters and manuscripts, providing a fresh perspective on Seward's life and historical milieu that restores and problematizes Seward's carefully constructed narrative of her life. Of the poet Anna Seward, it may be said with some veracity that hers was an epistolary life. What is known of Seward comes from six volumes of her letters and from juvenile letters that prefaced her books of poetry, all published posthumously. That Seward intended her correspondence to serve as her autobiography is clear, but she could not have anticipated that the letters she intended for publication would be drastically edited and censored by her literary editor, Walter Scott, and by her publisher, Archibald Constable. Stripped of their vitality and much of their significance, the published letters omit telling tales of the intricacies of the marriage market and Seward's own battles against gender inequality in the educational and workplace spheres. Seward's correspondents included Erasmus Darwin, William Hayley, Helen Maria Williams, and Robert Southey, and her letters are packed with stories and anecdotes about her friends' lives and characters, what they looked like, and how they lived. Particularly compelling is Barnard's discussion of Seward's astonishing last will and testament, a twenty-page document that summarizes her life, achievements, and self-definition as a writing woman. Barnard's biography not only challenges what is known about Seward, but provides new information about the lives and times of eighteenth-century writers.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

In her critical biography of Anna Seward (1742-1809), Teresa Barnard examines the poet's unpublished letters and manuscripts, providing a fresh perspective on Seward's life and historical milieu that restores and problematizes Seward's carefully constructed narrative of her life. Of the poet Anna Seward, it may be said with some veracity that hers was an epistolary life. What is known of Seward comes from six volumes of her letters and from juvenile letters that prefaced her books of poetry, all published posthumously. That Seward intended her correspondence to serve as her autobiography is clear, but she could not have anticipated that the letters she intended for publication would be drastically edited and censored by her literary editor, Walter Scott, and by her publisher, Archibald Constable. Stripped of their vitality and much of their significance, the published letters omit telling tales of the intricacies of the marriage market and Seward's own battles against gender inequality in the educational and workplace spheres. Seward's correspondents included Erasmus Darwin, William Hayley, Helen Maria Williams, and Robert Southey, and her letters are packed with stories and anecdotes about her friends' lives and characters, what they looked like, and how they lived. Particularly compelling is Barnard's discussion of Seward's astonishing last will and testament, a twenty-page document that summarizes her life, achievements, and self-definition as a writing woman. Barnard's biography not only challenges what is known about Seward, but provides new information about the lives and times of eighteenth-century writers.

More books from Taylor and Francis

Cover of the book Human Flourishing, Liberal Theory, and the Arts by Teresa Barnard
Cover of the book The Concept of Motivation by Teresa Barnard
Cover of the book Disabled Students in Higher Education by Teresa Barnard
Cover of the book The State of State by Teresa Barnard
Cover of the book Decoding Liberation by Teresa Barnard
Cover of the book Differently Literate by Teresa Barnard
Cover of the book Open(ing) Authority Through Community Engagement by Teresa Barnard
Cover of the book Critical Incident Stress And Trauma In The Workplace by Teresa Barnard
Cover of the book Contemporary Theories of Religion by Teresa Barnard
Cover of the book Russian Culture At The Crossroads by Teresa Barnard
Cover of the book Innovation Diffusion in the New Economy by Teresa Barnard
Cover of the book Boundaries of Utopia - Imagining Communism from Plato to Stalin by Teresa Barnard
Cover of the book The Englishwoman's Review of Social and Industrial Questions by Teresa Barnard
Cover of the book Rethinking Urban Transitions by Teresa Barnard
Cover of the book Educational Assessment, Evaluation and Research by Teresa Barnard
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy