Living by the pen

'Living By The Pen' reclaims the literary heritage of early British women writers from the predominantly male tradition. The contributors include some of the most renowned researchers and writers in this are. Together they provide accessible and useful background material on the women, the writing, and the period. Their work is an important corrective to the depiction of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century women writers as amateurs and dilettantes, for it details how these women earned their living from writing, supporting both themselves and their families. This thought-provoking collection will be indispensable to literary scholars and a welcome addition to undergraduate and graduate courses in literature, women's history, and women's studies.