Anna Beer investigates the lives and achievements of eight women writers, uncovering a startling and unconventional history of literature Beer presents them chronologically, with each essay devoted to an individual author, except for the first. That one concerns Julian of Norwich and Margery Kempe, two devotional writers from the early 1400s. Kempe was a survivor, writing her pilgrimage travelogue at a time when possessing a single Bible verse in English was punishable by death. Julian, on the other hand, wrote from an anchorhold — a doorless, enclosed cell in a church. In her Revelations of Divine Love, she defied convention by writing for a female readership and by conceiving of God as mother as well as father. Having said that, the chapter on Montegu is by far the richest and most exuberant. Montegu was married to a diplomat, traveled to the Ottoman Empire, learned Turkish, and wrote voluminous letters and travelogues, none of which were published in her lifetime. “She writes of wolves and fashions, war and pheasants. Trivial social bitching jostled with earnest philosophical analysis,” explains Beer. She was, the author contends, “setting herself up in explicit competition with the male literary establishment, past and present.” Unfortunately, when we get to the essay on Anne Bradstreet, Eve begins to lose her bite. Perhaps Beer wrote this chapter to maintain a steady chronology. But I don’t see how Bradstreet fits the book’s premise. In fact, Beer suggests that Bradstreet’s poetry might have been published — with the help of her father, husband, and brother-in-law — to counter the scandalous behavior of her sister Sarah, a London preacher. “Why should Bradstreet do our feminist heavy lifting,” Beer asks. To which I reply, tell us more about Sarah!

Anna and Helen talked about how women through the ages have been unable to find writing success as they silenced themselves for protection in society. However, they were writing nonetheless, and they could’ve had a legacy similar to their male contemporaries. Yet they were rarely taken seriously enough. Women’s work was usually ignored and appropriated; it was hardly ever shared or published. So this book is also for those who aren’t featured: women writers whose work no one ever knew about. Importance beyond the academic world Because, as a woman, if you are given the gift of education, your literacy is not a means of opening doors to different ways of being, but designed to prepare you better for your decreed role in life. Your task is to provide moral guidance, not to entertain, since for you to provide pleasure to your reader would make you little more than a courtesan. If you do have to write about sex and desire, then bear in mind that religious and literary traditions link women’s sexuality to subjection rather than authority. Anna will argue that it was a risk she was willing to take, as she attempts to hold the life and the work in the same frame. She writes that, for her, 'it remains the most powerful way to appreciate these women’s achievements as authors and to understand why, still, they and their work constitute an alternative history of literature in English.' As a literature student myself, naturally I was intrigued when offered to attend the event on behalf of Bristol Women’s Voice. The talk was hosted by the lovely staff at Gloucester Road Books and Sidney & Eden, and chaired by Helen Taylor, a retired English professor. It turned out to be a friendly evening of thought-provoking discussion about gender in our literary history. Women writing against the odds

By Rachel Cusk

She gives the societal construct, the current views/constraints on women (and women writers) for each of the women in the century in which they lived. She looks at them through our concerns today: sexism, racism, slavery, religious persecution, and explains their stance in the context of their society. She doesn't dismiss or excuse; but explains.

Biographer Anna explores the lives and work of eight women all game changers, ground breakers, or simply brilliant writers in their particular genre and there are plenty of stories to tell. But Anna will also be making some surprising connections with one of her previous biographical subjects, John Milton, whose first wife was Mary Powell from Forest Hill. Anna will offer entertaining insights into the lives and works of these women you may never think about Jane Austen in the same way again! Corruption is a term increasingly used in political discourse and international relations. But what does it really mean, and can understanding the world through the lens of corruption reveal anything new? Thank you for taking that on board. If you are very good, we might allow you to write, but only about certain things and in certain ways and for certain people. The next essay is about Aemilia Lanyer, the illegitimate daughter of an Elizabethan court musician, who was subsequently educated by Katheryn Parr. She was the first woman to seek status as a professional author. She also wrote for women. Her poem “Salve Deux Rex Judaeorum,” now considered an important Renaissance text, re-imagines Genesis in Eve’s defense. Eve might’ve eaten the apple, but Jesus was betrayed by men.

By Sarah Lohman

Over the weekend of 22 – 24 September 2023 we will once again host our Meeting Minds Global series of events for Kellogg and Oxford alumni. Anna noted that a running theme throughout her book is this silence, and a self-imposed silence. That it’s our job now to listen to these silences and look for clues. Because we have access to so many books written by women nowadays, it can be easy to think domains like literature are “inclusive enough”. However, all forms of misogyny and sexism are still present. That we know about Montegu at all is owed to a trip she took to Rotterdam in her 70s, while dying of cancer. There, she handed over her papers to an evangelical Presbyterian minister for safekeeping. They were published after her death in 1763 and “still have the power to charm but also provoke outrage.” Beer admits that she can’t do Montegu’s life justice in one short chapter. I only wish she’d write a whole book about this woman. The Linton Lecture will be followed by a drinks reception for event speakers, OCLW Linton Friends, OCLW Visiting Scholars and invited guests.