Patricia Demers

"In this introduction to the diversity and scope of the writing by women in England from the beginning of the sixteenth century to the restoration of the monarchy in 1660, Patricia Demers discusses the creative realities of women writers' accomplishments and the cultural conditions under which they wrote."--Jacket.

History has not been kind to Hannah More. This once lionized writer and activist - the most influential female philanthropist of her day - is now considered by many to be the embodiment of pious morality and reactionary anti-feminism. Largely because of her belief in separate spheres for men and women, More has been vilified by modern-day feminists. Without denying the problems More presents for modern readers, Patricia Demers has produced a balanced revisionist study of a woman enormously influential in late-eighteenth- and early-nineteenth-century England. By examining the career of this cultural warrior, situating her major texts in relation to contemporaries, and addressing her published writing, philanthropic activities, and voluminous correspondence, Demers anchors The World of Hannah More in the work itself - an appropriate and just response to a woman who took pride in living to some purpose.

"Children's literature as we know it did not exist before the mid-eighteenth century; yet from medieval times on, a wealth of poetry and prose was read by and to children. In this anthology Patricia Demers illustrates the development of that literature, from its earnest beginnings to the dawn of its Golden Age, introducing the selections and placing them in historical context. From early colloquies and hornbooks to charming miniature libraries, the selections - many of which are accompanied by their original illustrations - provide a window through which to trace the developing concept of childhood in itself and the cultural value of the child."--Jacket.