Description
Book SynopsisMary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792) made a pioneering and durably influential argument for women's equality. Drawing on extensive experience teaching and writing about Wollstonecraft, Susan J. Wolfson provides fresh perspectives both for first-time readers and those seeking a nuanced appreciation of her achievements.
Trade ReviewMary Wollstonecraft helped us to understand how easily the rights of women can vanish from the political and social scene and how ‘natural’ it can seem for men and women to ignore them. This remarkable book not only situates Wollstonecraft in history but also shows in detail how she altered history by writing so well. -- Michael G. Wood, author of
The Habits of DistractionThis book is memorable, educational, and enjoyable, exploring Wollstonecraft’s life and thought with brio and unrestrained pleasure. Wolfson's understanding of the subject is second to none—there is no one more authoritative or more learned. -- Duncan Wu, editor of
Romanticism: An AnthologySusan Wolfson’s engaged and engaging account of Mary Wollstonecraft illuminates the creative intellectual energies that drove Wollstonecraft’s prodigious achievement: nothing less than an analysis of women’s situation in the context of a larger political system. Wolfson’s exposition is dazzling. -- Frances Ferguson, author of
Solitude and the Sublime: The Romantic Aesthetics of IndividuationWolfson provides a compelling and classroom-friendly introduction to the troubled private life, flamboyant public career, and charged political afterlife of Mary Wollstonecraft. Her writing is scintillating, with vernacular verve and unflagging narrative drive. This book has everything—point, polish, and an accessibly gripping tale to tell. -- Garrett Stewart, James O. Freedman Professor of Letters, University of Iowa
An admirably witty, informative, and succinct new guide to Wollstonecraft's most famous book. -- Miranda Seymour * New York Review of Books *
[An] excellent study of
A Vindication. -- Elaine Showalter * Times Literary Supplement *
This book provides fresh perspectives both for first-time readers and those seeking a nuanced appreciation of her achievements. * Discovery *
An exciting supplement to the ever-growing list of books on Wollstonecraft and her work...Wolfson’s book works as both an introduction for undergraduate students and an engaging read for feminist and literary scholars. * Tulsa Studies on Women's Literature *
Table of ContentsList of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
My Texts, Abbreviations, and Short Titles
Prologue: Why Mary Wollstonecraft? Why
A Vindication?1. How Mary Wollstonecraft Became “the Author of a Vindication of the Rights of Woman”
2. Picturing Mary Wollstonecraft: The Right Woman
3. “An Amazon stept out”:
A Vindication of the Rights of Men (1790)
4. “Revolution in female manners”:
A Vindication of the Rights of Woman: With Strictures on Political and Moral Subjects (1792)
5. Dystopian Nightmare: Paris, December 26, 1792
6. “Bastilled . . . for life”:
The Wrongs of Woman, or Maria; a Fragment (1798)
Epilogue: “we hear her voice”
Brief Glossary of Recurring Names
Notes
Further Reading and Bibliographies
Index
