Political Biography of Sarah Fielding

A Political Biography of Sarah Fielding provides the most complete discussion of Fielding's works and career currently available. Tracing the development of Fielding's artistic and instructive agendas from her earliest publications forward, Johnson presents a compelling portrait of a deeply read author who sought to claim a place within literary culture for women's experiences. As a practical didacticist, Fielding sought to teach her readers to live happier, more fulfilling lives by appropriating and at times resisting the texts that defined their culture. While Fielding often retreats from the overtly political concerns that captured the attention of her contemporaries, her works are daring forays into the public sphere that both challenge and reinforce the foundations of British society. Giving voice to those who have been marginalized, Fielding's creative productions are at once conservative and radical, revealing her ambiguous appreciation for tradition, her fears of modernity, and her abiding commitment to women who must live within forever imperfect worlds.

List of contents

Introduction

Chapter 1. The Making of a Novelist

Chapter 2. Her Own Story: The Adventures of David Simple

Chapter 3. Familiar Letters between the Principal Characters of David Simple

Chapter 4. The Governess, A New Experiment in Fiction

Chapter 5. Forays into Literary Criticism

Chapter 6. David Simple, Volume the Last

Chapter 7. Collaboration and Innovation, The Cry

Chapter 8. The Lives of Cleopatra and Octavia

Chapter 9. The History of the Countess of Dellwyn

Conclusion

About the author

Christopher D. Johnson is professor of English and Director of the McNair Institute at Francis Marion University. His recent publications include a festschrift in honor of Jerry C. Beasley (2011) and essays on Henry and Sarah Fielding, Philip Doddridge, Oliver Goldsmith, and John Dryden.

Summary

Tracing the development of Fielding’s agendas, Johnson presents a compelling portrait of an author who claimed a place within literary culture for women’s experiences. While Fielding often retreats from the overtly political concerns that captured the attention of her contemporaries, her works are daring forays into the public sphere that both c

Product details

• Authors: Christopher D Johnson, Christopher D (North Carolina State Unive Johnson, Christopher D. Johnson
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd.
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 31.12.2019
• EAN: 9780367875930
• ISBN: 978-0-367-87593-0
• No. of pages: 276
• Series: Eighteenth-Century Political Biographies
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History > Regional and national histories; Non-fiction book > Art, literature > Biographies, autobiographies; England, Biography: literary, European History, LITERARY CRITICISM / General, 18th century, c 1700 to c 1799, United Kingdom, Great Britain, HISTORY / Europe / Great Britain / General, Literary studies: general, Literary studies: c 1500 to c 1800, Literary studies: fiction, novelists & prose writers, Literary studies: fiction, novelists and prose writers, Literary studies: c 1600 to c 1800, Biography: writers, Western philosophy: Enlightenment, C 1700 To C 1800