OF EMINENT FEMALE WRITER OF ALL AGES AND COUNTRIES. BY ANNA MARIA LEE. PHILADELPHIA: NO. 9, NORTH FOURTH STREET. J. Harding, Printer. 809 L477 me EASTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA, to wit: BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the 14th day of March, in the Fifty-first year of the Independence of the United States of America, A. D. 1827, B. T. FRENCH, of the said district, hath deposited in this office the title of a book, the right whereof he claims as proprietor, in the words following, to wit: "Memoirs of Eminent Female Writers, of all Ages and Countries. By Anna Maria Lee." In conformity to the Act of the Congress of the United States entitled, "An act for the encouragement of learning, by securing the copies of maps, charts, and books to the authors and proprietors of such copies during the times therein mentioned." And also to the act, entitled, " An act supplementary to an act entitled, " An act for the encouragement of learning, by securing the copies of maps, charts, and books, to the authors and proprietors of such copies during the times therein mentioned, and extending the benefits thereof to the arts of designing, engraving, and etching historical and other prints. D. CALDWELL, Clerk of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. tacks. 5 Charles M. Drake 10/25/78 1274536-298 INTRODUCTION. Exemplo plusquam ratione vivimus. THE following pages were chiefly written in the summer of 1825, with the intention to publish, at that time, a succinct account of eminently pious and learned women of Great Britain and this country. Owing, however, to various circumstances, it was not completed; but, in the course of last month it was thought adviseable to revise what had been written, and alter the plan somewhat, by omitting the lives of females eminent only for their piety, and adding in their stead those who have been distinguished for their learning and talents as writers. This alteration will, it is hoped, be approved of, since it now presents a series of the most eminent female writers, from the earliest period down to the present time, together with a detailed account of their literary labours, which all classes of readers may consult, without interfering in the least with the belief or opinions of any, in matters of religion. At no period, since the revival of learning in Europe, has the female sex written so much and so well as in the last half century. It is, indeed, a glorious epoch of the triumph of female genius-an epoch, that will be contemplated with admiration by succeeding generations. Among the illustrious females who have done honour to the intellectual character of their country, the names of a Radcliffe, a More, a Barbauld, a Morgan, a De Stael, a Porter, a West, a Genlis, a Hamilton, a Seward, an Opie, a Macauley, a Lennox, a Dacier, a Carter, an Edgeworth, stand conspicuous; and while such examples are held up for contemplation to the youthful part of the community, we may safely predict that the most happy results will grow out of it. In the work which is now presented to the public, considerable pains have been taken in consulting original materials, as well as diversifying the narrative of each individual with a variety of remarks suitable to the occasion; and should it prove, in any degree, useful as a manual of biography, the object of the writer will be gained, as well as compensated for the many pleasant hours bestowed in the execution of it. March 1, 1827. |