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In her critical biography of Anna Seward (1742-1809), Teresa Barnard examines the poet's unpublished letters and manuscripts, providing a fresh perspective on Seward's life and historical milieu that restores and problematizes Seward's carefully constructed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In her critical biography of Anna Seward (1742-1809), Teresa Barnard examines the poet's unpublished letters and manuscripts, providing a fresh perspective on Seward's life and historical milieu that restores and problematizes Seward's carefully constructed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 Visions of Sustainability by Teresa Barnard
Cover of the book Corporate Governance by Teresa Barnard
Cover of the book The Arms Dynamic in South-East Asia During the Second Cold War by Teresa Barnard
Cover of the book A Region in Transition by Teresa Barnard
Cover of the book Perspectives on Complementary and Alternative Medicine by Teresa Barnard
Cover of the book Principles of Knowledge Management: Theory, Practice, and Cases by Teresa Barnard
Cover of the book Counselling for Eating Disorders in Men by Teresa Barnard
Cover of the book The Cultural Authority of Science by Teresa Barnard
Cover of the book School Inspection & Self-Evaluation by Teresa Barnard
Cover of the book Dictionary of the Politics of the People's Republic of China by Teresa Barnard
Cover of the book The United States and Central America by Teresa Barnard
Cover of the book Shame and the Making of Art by Teresa Barnard
Cover of the book Sexuality, Sexual and Gender Identities and Intimacy Research in Social Work and Social Care by Teresa Barnard
Cover of the book Beyond Nature-Nurture by Teresa Barnard
Cover of the book Gyula Szekfü 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