Description
Book SynopsisWomen and the Rise of the Novel, 1405-1726 is the first theoretical study of early modern women's contribution to the rise of the novel. Named in its first edition an 'Outstanding Academic Book of the Year,' by Choice, this second, expanded edition includes two new chapters that extend its scope to include philosophical writings and memoirs.
Trade Review"A work of extraordinary significance . . . Donovan has defined the field clearly, forthrightly, often brilliantly. All future discussion of the subject begins here." - CHOICE
"Significant, ambitious, and timely . . . At its best Donovan's work precisely and elegantly." - Modern Philology
"[The] arguments are elegantly presented . . . lively and erudite." - The Comparatist
"Although Donovan establishes a complex theoretical framework, her study is accessible and jargon free. Informed, judicious, and insightful, Women and the Rise of the Novel should be required reading for all students of early fiction." - Eighteenth Century Woman
"Donovan's straightforward prose is easy and pleasant to read and her central points are . . . articulately stated." - Speculum
"Add[s] substantially to our understanding of the prehistory of the novel." - Huntington Library Quarterly
"Illuminating . . . offers a convincing thesis." - Renaissance Quarterly
"Valuable contribution . . . very useful." - Studies in the Novel
"Provides useful new ways of thinking about women writers and the novel." - Studies in English Literature
"Donovan reveals a previously unseen vista for scholars of the early novel or women's writing." - Sixteenth Century
"Bold and provocative." - Eighteenth-Century Studies
"It provides a wealth of important information . . . well worth reading." - Early Modern Women Journal
Table of ContentsIntroduction 1. The Case of the Novel 2. Critical Irony, Standpoint Theory, and the Novel 3. The Women's Framed-Novelle: The French Tradition 4. The Women's Framed-Novelle: The Spanish and English Traditions 5. Circumstances Alter Cases: Women, Casuistry, and the Novel 6. The Nineties Generation: A Feminist Prosaics 7. The Case of Violenta 8. Women Against Romance 9. Women and the Latin Rhetorical Tradition 10. Women's Defense-Narratives and the Novel 11. Women and the Epistemology of the Novel Conclusion
