Elizabeth Smith, a learned British woman born in the momentous year
1776, gained transnational fame posthumously for her extensive
intellectual accomplishments, which encompassed astronomy, botany,
history, poetry, and language studies. As she navigated her place
in the world, Smith made a self-conscious decision to keep her many
talents hidden from disapproving critics. Therefore, her rise to
fame began only in 1808, when her posthumous memoir appeared. In
this elegantly written biography, Lucia McMahon reconstructs the
places and social constellations that enabled Smith's learning and
adventures in England, Wales, and Ireland, and traces her
transatlantic fame and literary afterlife across Britain and the
United States. Through re-telling Elizabeth Smith's fascinating
life story and retracing her posthumous transatlantic fame, McMahon
reveals a larger narrative about women's efforts to enact learned
and fulfilling lives, and the cultural reactions such aspirations
inspired in the early nineteenth century. Although Smith was cast
as "exceptional" by her contemporaries and modern scholars alike,
McMahon argues that her scholarly achievements, travel
explorations, and posthumous fame were all emblematic of the age in
which she lived. Offering insights into Romanticism, picturesque
tourism, celebrity culture, and women's literary productions,
McMahon asks the provocative question, "How many seemingly
exceptional women must we uncover in the historical record before
we are no longer surprised?"
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
(1)
(2)
