The Life and Romances of Mrs. Eliza Haywood

George Whicher's The Life and Romances of Mrs. Eliza Haywood (1915) is a monograph that combines biography and literary criticism to present an authoritative vision of the life and career of one of England's most influential and misunderstood writers. Despite her private nature, Haywood is a major figure in English literature, known for her novels that explore the domination and oppression of women by men. This edition of Whicher's work is a classic of English literary criticism reimagined for modern readers.

Format: Hardback
Length: 146 pages
Publication date: 15 February 2022
Publisher: West Margin Press

The Life and Romances of Mrs. Eliza Haywood (1915) is a monograph by George Whicher. Highly regarded by feminist scholars today, Haywood was a prolific writer who revolutionized the English novel while raising a family, running a pamphlet shop in Covent Gardens, and pursuing a career as an actress and writer for some of Londons most prominent theaters. In The Life and Romances of Mrs. Eliza Haywood, Whicher blends biography and literary criticism in order to present an authoritative vision of the life and career of one of Englands most influential and misunderstood writers. Notoriously private, Haywood is a major figure in English literature about whom little is known for certain. Scholars believe she was born Eliza Fowler in Shropshire or London, but are unclear on the socioeconomic status of her family. She first appears in the public record in 1715, when she performed in an adaptation of Shakespeares Timon of Athens in Dublin. Famously portrayed as a woman of ill-repute in Alexander Popes Dunciad (1743), it is believed that Haywood had been deserted by her husband to raise their children alone. Popes account is likely to have come from poet Richard Savage, with whom Haywood was friends for several years beginning in 1719 before their falling out. This period coincided with the publication of Love in Excess (1719–1720), Haywoods first and best-known novel. Alongside Delarivier Manley and Aphra Behn, Haywood was considered one of the leading romance writers of her time. Haywoods novels, such as Idalia; or The Unfortunate Mistress (1723), The Distressed Orphan; or Love in a Madhouse (1726), and The History of Miss Betsy Thoughtless (1751) often explore the domination and oppression of women by men. In The Life and Romances of Mrs. Eliza Haywood, George Whi.

Dimension: 203 x 127 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781513133799