"Elizabeth Singer Rowe and the Development of the English Novel"
is the first in-depth study of Rowe's prose fiction. A four-volume
collection of her work was a bestseller for a hundred years after
its publication, but today Rowe is a largely unrecognized figure in
the history of the novel.
Although her poetry was appreciated by poets such as Alexander
Pope for its metrical craftsmanship, beauty, and imagery, by the
time of her death in 1737 she was better known for her fiction.
According to Paula R. Backscheider, Rowe's major focus in her
novels was on creating characters who were seeking a harmonious,
contented life, often in the face of considerable social pressure.
This quest would become the plotline in a large number of works in
the second half of the eighteenth century, and it continues to be a
major theme today in novels by women.
Backscheider relates Rowe's work to popular fiction written by
earlier writers as well as by her contemporaries. Rowe had a
lasting influence on major movements, including the politeness (or
gentility) movement, the reading revolution, and the Bluestocking
society. The author reveals new information about each of these
movements, and Elizabeth Singer Rowe emerges as an important
innovator. Her influence resulted in new types of novel writing,
philosophies, and lifestyles for women. Backscheider looks to
archival materials, literary analysis, biographical evidence, and a
configuration of cultural and feminist theories to prove her
groundbreaking argument.
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