Women and the Rise of the Novel, 1405-1726 [Paperback]

Women and the Rise of the Novel, 1405-1726 is the first theoretical study of early modern women's contribution to the rise of the novel. Named in its first edition an 'Outstanding Academic Book of the Year,' by Choice, this second, expanded edition includes two new chapters that extend its scope to include philosophical writings and memoirs.Introduction 1. The Case of the Novel 2. Critical Irony, Standpoint Theory, and the Novel 3. The Women's Framed-Novelle: The French Tradition 4. The Women's Framed-Novelle: The Spanish and English Traditions 5. Circumstances Alter Cases: Women, Casuistry, and the Novel 6. The Nineties Generation: A Feminist Prosaics 7. The Case of Violenta 8. Women Against Romance 9. Women and the Latin Rhetorical Tradition 10. Women's Defense-Narratives and the Novel 11. Women and the Epistemology of the Novel Conclusion

A work of extraordinary significance . . . Donovan has defined the field clearly, forthrightly, often brilliantly. All future discussion of the subject begins here. - CHOICE

Significant, ambitious, and timely . . . At its best Donovan's work precisely and elegantly. - Modern Philology

[The] arguments are elegantly presented . . . lively and erudite. - The Comparatist

Although Donovan establishes a complex theoretical framework, her study is accessible and jargon free. Informed, judicious, and insightful, Women and the Rise of the Novel should be required reading for all students of early fiction. - Eighteenth Century Woman

Donovan's straightforward prose is easy and pleasant to read and her central points are . . . articulately stated. - Speculum

Add[s] substantially to our understanding of the prehistory of the novel. - Huntington Library Quarterly

Illuminating . . . offers a convincing thesis. - Renaissance Quarterly

Valuable contribution . . . very useful. - Studies in the Novellã&