Bøker i Chawton House Library: Women's Memoirs-serien

Mary Hays was a radical feminist whose writings brought her to the attention of her contemporaries William Blake, Thomas Paine, Mary Wollstonecraft and William Godwin. Her Female Biography is an ambitious and acclaimed work, covering the lives of 294 women.

By the close of the Eighteenth Century, the theatrical memoir had become a popular and established genre. This ten-volume facsimile collection offers accounts of the late eighteenth-century stage, which provide insights into contemporary constructions of gender, sexuality and fame.

By the close of the eighteenth century, the theatrical memoir had become a popular and established genre. This ten-volume facsimile collection presents the lives of some of the most celebrated actresses of their day. These memoirs also provide insights into contemporary constructions of gender, sexuality and fame.

These memoirs all come from women forced to live lives of impropriety, often after ill-treatment from unscrupulous men. Their tales of survival in the face of extreme hardship and privations make inspirational and compelling reading.

These exhuberant stories of intrigue and scandal paint a vivid and colourful picture of society life.

Each of the works in this collection documents the extraodinary fortunes of women whose real lives read like fiction.