Anna Seward: A Constructed Life: A Critical Biography

by Teresa Barnard

Overview

Examining the unpublished letters and manuscripts of the poet Anna Seward (1742-1809), Teresa Barnard provides a fresh perspective on her life and historical milieu that restores and problematizes Seward's carefully constructed narrative of her life. Barnard's biography of Seward not only challenges what is known about Seward, but provides new information about the lives and times of eighteenth-century writers.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781409475330
Publisher:	Ashgate Publishing Ltd
Publication date:	04/28/2013
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Teresa Barnard is Lecturer in English Literature at the University of Derby, UK

Table of Contents

Contents: Introduction: 'the fame of a lady'; 'My dear Emma': the juvenile letters, 1762-1768; Anecdotes: the juvenile letters; 'A free agent': the Powys and Sykes letters, 1770-1780; Lost years: the Powys and Sykes letters; 'Born to write': 1780-1809; Final words: the last will and testament; Appendixes; Bibliography; Index.

Editorial Reviews

’(Barnard) makes a good case for Seward as a strong-willed, independent-minded woman, whose comments on people, opinions and literary movements are often pungent, often rewarding....Seward has much to teach us about the historical conditions of women's lives and about the individual's negotiation with her shaping context. This attractive book (whose cover features John Downman's sexy portrait, not the drabber and better-known work by George Romney) is welcome...’ Times Higher Education ’Barnard makes an excellent case for Seward’s epistolary self-construction and iconoclastic career; her biography also offers a wealth of insights for the student and scholar of eighteenth-century literary history.’ Romantic Textualities

From the Publisher