'Women seem to be destined solely for our pleasure. When they no longer have that attraction, they have lost everything' (letter from Diderot to Sophie Volland, 1762). How typical was this view of the 'older woman' in the eighteenth century? What was it like for women of intelligence and sensibility to grow old in such a culture? By studying the correspondences of four prominent women (Francoise de Graffigny, Marie Du Deffand, Marie Riccoboni and Isabelle de Charriere) during their middle and late years, Stewart explores the relation of female aging to respectability, sexuality and power. The author's focus lies in the physical, emotional and professional well-being of middle-aged and elderly women during a time when all the available dignity of age seemed to belong to men. The 'repulsiveness' of growing old was patently a female issue. One of the most emblematic aspects of these correspondences is the often unrequited love of older women for younger men during a period when the common wisdom denied women the right to any feelings except piety. Stewart juxtaposes their letters with representations of aging women in the period's fictional and medical literature. She takes up several canonical, mostly male-authored, texts that purvey this common wisdom, and re-reads them with originality and grace. Through The Enlightenment of age - at once learned, highly personal and entertaining - Stewart speaks to us about the secret lives of older women, and about the ethos of an era.

Dress up your doll

From super hero to princess, pumpkin to mermaid, these adorable doll costumes for the 18-inch doll will ignite your child's imagination. Beloved author Joan Hinds brings together a collection of twenty fun and creative costumes, letting children enjoy the magic of dress-up with their dolls year round.

• 20 costumes plus accessories for the 18-inch doll
• Clearly illustrated instructions for simple sewing
• Bonus child-sized mask pattern to make with your daughter
• Includes a CD-rom with full-size PDF patterns

Create historically adorable doll clothes! Celebrate America's signature fashions--on a smaller scale! For the first time in one book, you'll find 20 historical outfits for your 18-inch doll, all based on popular looks from decades past. Dress your doll for a Colonial ball in an elegant gown complete with lace ruffles, ribbon trim and a hoop skirt. Or take your doll on an Edwardian picnic in her white summer dress, then help her get dressed in her pleated skirt and blouse for a day in a 1950s classroom. With detailed accessories and a section on "necessary unmentionables," you'll find everything you need to take your doll on trip through the past. Beloved author Joan Hinds delivers clear instructions and detailed illustrations making these outfits easy to sew. Using and reusing the designs is simple with a CD-ROM of printable patterns. So get ready to take a historical journey and thread your sewing machine--it's time to celebrate the best of American fashion!

Set in prerevolutionary France, The Story of Ernestine tells of the love between an innocent young woman and an aristocrat.

Ernestine, German-born and orphaned, is an apprentice painter putting the finishing touches on a portrait when the marquis de Clemengis, elegant and handsome, enters the studio. Recognizing him as the subject of the portrait, she gestures for him to be seated and goes on working, looking back and forth between him and his likeness. The world-weary aristocrat is smitten.

In graceful, understated prose, Marie Riccoboni shows how her heroine learns to negotiate questions of honor and appearances and to find a precarious balance between economic security and the potentially compromising nature of male generosity. The story raises questions about sexual enlightenment and social prejudice and reexamines the links of money, reputation, and marriageability that preoccupied eighteenth-century writers.

Marie-Jeanne Riccoboni was one of the most popular novelists of her day. Stewart examines Lettres de Fanni Butlerd (1957) and the seven subsequent novels, paying particular attention to the technical aspects of her work to her handling of the letter form to her ideas on men, women, and love and to her feminism.

Set in prerevolutionary France, The Story of Ernestine tells of the love between an innocent young woman and an aristocrat. Ernestine, German-born and orphaned, is an apprentice painter putting the finishing touches on a portrait when the marquis de Clemengis, elegant and handsome, enters the studio. Recognizing him as the subject of the portrait, she gestures for him to be seated and goes on working, looking back and forth between him and his likeness. The world-weary aristocrat is smitten. In graceful, understated prose, Marie Riccoboni shows how her heroine learns to negotiate questions of honor and appearances and to find a precarious balance between economic security and the potentially compromising nature of male generosity. The story raises questions about sexual enlightenment and social prejudice and reexamines the links of money, reputation, and marriageability that preoccupied eighteenth-century writers.