Mary Wollstonecraft's work put a basis for feminism. Like I said in my review for A Vindication of the Rights of Womanhe's one of the first feminist pMary Wollstonecraft's work put a basis for feminism. Like I said in my review for A Vindication of the Rights of Womanhe's one of the first feminist philosophers and as such, she's inspiring. However, the reason why the book I just mentioned is her most well known book is quite obvious after reading this.
I found it good at some times and rather tedious at others. This book has two stories: Mary is a novel that even the author didn't consider as very good a few years after its publication. While the story itself is interesting, I found the writing tedious and it just couldn't hold my interest: 2 stars. The Wrongs of Woman is unfortunately unfinished and was published after her death, but that doesn't stop it from being an interesting sequel to her Vindication of the Rights of Woman, especially when you keep in mind that it was written and published in the 18th century and was received with much more harsh criticism at the time. I definitely recommend this one: 4 stars....more
The Castle of Otranto is unfortunately one of those 18th classics novels that don't pass the test of time, in my opinion. Reading it now... it just feThe Castle of Otranto is unfortunately one of those 18th classics novels that don't pass the test of time, in my opinion. Reading it now... it just fell flat for me, sorry. The reason this is a two stars review and not a one star is because I could appreciate its value in the history of literature. If you're not interested by this and just want a novel where you can say "wow, that was great", I'd suggest to read something else. If you're interested however, this novel by Horace Walpole is considered as the first gothic novel -in fact, the next edition of this little book was called "The Castle of Otranto, A Gothic Story." It had a major influence on the genre and, as such, earned the right to be considered as an interesting and important book in the history of literature and gothic fiction....more
"Strengthen the female mind by enlarging it, and there will be an end to blind obedience."
The life of Mary Wollstonecraft has interested people way mo"Strengthen the female mind by enlarging it, and there will be an end to blind obedience."
The life of Mary Wollstonecraft has interested people way more than what she wrote for a long, long time. Her life is indeed interesting, though not for the blame people put on her at the time. In the 18th century, it was of course outrageous. Now, she's one of the first feminist philosophers and this book is one of the first ones on the matter. Just for that reason, you should be interested in reading it. Of course, you can debate over whether A Vindication of the Rights of Woman is a feminist work or not, since the author does not claim gender equality, but in the 18th century and in the context of the life of the author, it's already a very powerful book and it does belong to feminism. Of course it's the early feminism, why would you expect otherwise?
I admit I was also interested in her life and in this book because she's Mary Shelley's mother who wrote one of my favorite books ever. It's sad that Mary never knew her mother, even though it's clear that she had an influence on her anyway.
This isn't a five stars is that the whole point of feminism is also equality between all women. Arguing that uneducated women cannot teach their children was condescending and there's also here a very clear difference between which social class a woman belongs to. It's a sad reality that not all women can have the same level of education, however they can and often do pass on great values to their children. Besides that point that would unfortunately be expected, Mary Wollstonecraft offered an inspirational and powerful work in the early hours of feminism....more
Caleb Williams, also known as Things as They Are, appealed to me for two reasons. The first one is that it's considered as part of the early gothic liCaleb Williams, also known as Things as They Are, appealed to me for two reasons. The first one is that it's considered as part of the early gothic literature. The second is that William Godwin was married to Mary Wollstonecraft and they had a daughter together, none other than Mary Shelley who wrote one of my all time favorite books.
This was honestly a good novel, although the language was sometimes a little difficult for me. It's part mystery/thriller, part political. The message in this book is very clear, which isn't a surprise since Godwin wasn't one to hide his political ideas, but in 1794 it wasn't easy to publish this. That must demand a courage that most of us didn't have (lucky us) the opportunity to find out whether we had it too or not.
Now, the writing (besides the language being sometimes a little hard for me like I mentioned) could have been better in my opinion. It was sometimes a tedious read, and to be honest this book in three volumes has only one really strong part for me (the second one). It's too bad, because I totally understand why so many people gave it four stars. I did like it and would recommend it if you're not scared of 18th classics....more
Fanny Burney was a great author, one Jane Austen herself really liked (this is especially obvious in her second novel, Cecilia, when we've read Pride Fanny Burney was a great author, one Jane Austen herself really liked (this is especially obvious in her second novel, Cecilia, when we've read Pride and Prejudice) who published four novels (she destroyed the manuscrit of the first novel she wrote). Her first novel, Evelina, seems to be the most well-known but not the best in my opinion. That isn't to say it wasn't good and I might have made the wrong choice by not reading this one first ; however after the amazing Camilla and the really great Cecilia, Evelina just didn't hold the comparison. Which is both comprehensible and great: Burney obviously improved after her first novel.
If this is your first experience with this author, I definitely recommend it, but I must admit I don't quite understand why there seem to be so much more interest for Evelina than the two others Burney's novels I read. The last of her novels, The Wanderer: or, Female Difficulties, which is also the only one published in the 19th century instead of the 18th, will also be my last novel by Burney. I expect to enjoy it and I'd like to read more of others Burney's works, who also wrote plays and nonfiction, as she definitely held my attention....more
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