We have UK national elections this week. For most of this country’s history most people did not have the right to vote or freedom of speech. The 1832 Reform Bill enfranchised sections of the middle (but not working) classes. Before … Read More
Moll is a variation on the biblical parable of the prodigal son (see below). He wants to be free to do his own thing so asks his father for his share of the inheritance in advance. He spends the money … Read More
The eighteenth-century canon is still largely dominated by male writers but researchers have shown increasing interest since the 1980s in eighteenth-century women not only as readers but as writers. My students are often surprised to learn that freedom of speech … Read More
Extract from my free lecture on eighteenth-century literature, the Literature of Sensibility, women writers and readers: Women’s education was much debated throughout the century, not least in women’s novels but the generally accepted ideal was to educate women not for … Read More
New domestic violence legislation is being debated in the UK at the moment. In 1782 Sir Francis Buller, later known as ‘Judge Thumb’, ruled famously (I should say infamously) that a husband could beat his wife if the stick was … Read More