Mary Wollstonecraft: A Very Short Introduction

E J Clery

Book cover for Mary Wollstonecraft: A Very Short Introduction
Book cover for Mary Wollstonecraft: A Very Short Introduction

Mary Wollstonecraft: A Very Short Introduction

Mary Wollstonecraft: A Very Short Introduction

E J Clery

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Description

Very Short Introductions: Brilliant, Sharp, Inspiring

Mary Wollstonecraft is widely hailed as the mother of modern feminism. The book that made her famous, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, is a work of worldwide renown. Yet the range of her achievements as a thinker and writer reaches far beyond this text. She was a multi-faceted author, and although the condition of women was a constant preoccupation throughout her life, she wrote on a wide variety of topics and in a range of literary forms, some of which she created herself.

This Very Short Introduction examines the conditions for Wollstonecraft's emergence as a feminist, but also her status as an educator, a political thinker, and a romantic. E. J. Clery also considers the reception Mary Wollstonecraft has received over the last two centuries and argues that readers need to look at her gamut of activities anew in the 21st century.

ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

About the Author

E. J. Clery, Professor of English Literature at Uppsala University

E.J. Clery is Professor in the Department of English Literature at the Uppsala University, and the author of five monographs, including Women's Gothic from Clara Reeve to Mary Shelley. Her recent publications include a critical biography Jane Austen: the Banker's Sister and Eighteen Hundred and Eleven: Poetry, Protest and Economic Crisis.

Critical Reviews

"The compact demands of the "very short introduction" might entice a lesser scholar to cherry-pick her quotable moments or trace a coherent argument across her oeuvre. Admirably, Clery insists on contradictions and contingencies, introducing readers to the rich and compelling context of Wollstonecraft's world. This introduction follows Wollstonecraft as she grows, responds and changes her mind..." -- Madeleine Saidenberg, Times Literary Supplement

Publishing Information

Publisher: Oxford University Press
Pub date: 2025-06-26
Length: 160 pages

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