Synopses & Reviews
This new reference book is the most comprehensive annotated bibliography available on seventeenth century works by, for, and about women. Based on the
Wing Short-title Catalogue, it offers descriptions and assessments of just over 1,600 items written between 1641 and 1700 (637 by women and 973 for and about women). The preface explains the volume's organization and relates it to other standard reference sources. A lenghty introduction discusses the bibliography's intellectual history, its place within the context of recent scholarship about seventeenth-century English women, and the range of material covered.
Part I includes religious and literary works, petitions, journals and diaries, commentaries on women's social position and domestic role, and philosophical treatises by women. Additional material appearing in the Thomason Tracts collection, as well as items written by women during the period but published later, expands the Wing entries. Part II lists publications for and about women. Many discuss obstetrics and female sexuality, satirize women's alleged garrulousness and lasciviousness, offer advice about domestic and religious duties, or relate bizarre tales about women. The tone and focus of writings in the two sections are quite distinct, possibly because women usually wrote for personal gratification or out of dedication to a cause; thus, their work was characterized by urgency, enthusiasm, and honesty. On the other hand, men's writings often reflected a commercial interest, so they rarely seem products of the heart.
Review
. . . an excellent bibliography, and one that will be extremely useful to anyone seeking primary source material on women or on the seventeenth century.College and Research Libraries
Review
Identification of primary sources on women continues to be critical for scholarship in women's history, and this compilation extends the work done by Patricia Crawford (`Women's Published Writings 1600-1700,' in Women in English Society 1500-1800, ed. by M. Prior, CH, Nov'85) and Elaine Hobby (Virtue of Necessity: English Women's Writing 1649-88, 1989). Smith (University of Cincinnati, and author of Reason's Disciples: Seventeenth-Century English Feminists, CH, Mar'83) and Cardinale (Anthologies by and about Women: An Analytical Index, CH, Sep'82) have compiled an extensive bibliography of works by, for, and about women of the 17th century. Based primarily on D.G. Wings's Short-title Catalogue (1945-51), as well as the UMI microfilm collections Early English Books, 1641-1700, and The Thomason Tracts . . . 1640-1661, Part I includes annotated references to 637 works by women, ranging from religious tracts to social and political broadsides; Part II includes nearly 1,000 annotated entries to works written for and about women's issues and lives during the period. Although access to the sources may prove difficult for many students, a wealth of information is included in the annotations, enhanced by both chronological and general subject indexes. Recommended for academic libraries which support women's studies programs.Choice
Review
Hilda Smith and Susan Cardinal compile Women and the Literature of the Seventeenth Century an annotated bibliographical reference based upon the Wing Short-Title Catalogue. Over a thousand works ranging from social and political writings to journal entries and philosophical reviews are included, with writings and accompanying notes providing unusually complex details on the scope and nature of the writings of this period.The Bookwatch
Synopsis
"A well-annotated bibliography offering descriptions and assessments of over 1,600 works written 1641-1700. Writings by women include relitious and literary works, petitions, journals and diaries, commentaries on women's social position and domestic role, and philosophical treatises. Works for and about women discuss such topics as medicine, sexuality, domestic and religious duties." Reference and Research Book News
Table of Contents
Preface
Introduction
Works by Women
Works for and About Women
Addendum
Women Printers, Publishers and Booksellers
Chronological Index
General Index