Women publishers of puritan literature in the mid-seventeenth century : three case studies
This thesis looks beyond the stereotypes of women as transmitters and caretakers of businesses by focussing on the careers of three women, one a widow who remarried, one a woman with no apparent family connection with the trade, and the third another widow who carried on the business for almost ten years after the death of her husband. Their careers are reconstructed from biographical data and the details of their publishing output. Emphasis is placed on the relationship of individuals to the sectarian communities for which they published, and on the ways in which sectarian material came to be published and distributed. The studies suggest ways in which women's inferior legal status could protect them in their 'seditious' activities, and reveal the inadequacies of attempts to control the press during the period 1645-75. Hannah Allen's output demonstrates her development over a brief period of a specialized trade in books representing the strand of Independent thought which grew into Fifth Monarchism, and her emergence from economic dependency on partnerships to become a publisher in her own right. Mary Westwood's career reveals a level of publishing outside the London book trade and concerned exclusively with
Bell, Maureen
History of women in book trade
Women publishers of puritan literature in the mid-seventeenth century : three case studies. This thesis looks beyond the stereotypes of women as transmitters and caretakers of businesses by focussing on the careers of three women, one a widow who remarried, one a woman with no apparent family connection with the trade, and the third another widow who carried on the business for almost ten years after the death of her husband. Their careers are reconstructed from biographical data and the details of their publishing output. Emphasis is placed on the relationship of individuals to the sectarian communities for which they published, and on the ways in which sectarian material came to be published and distributed. The studies suggest ways in which women's inferior legal status could protect them in their 'seditious' activities, and reveal the inadequacies of attempts to control the press during the period 1645-75. Hannah Allen's output demonstrates her development over a brief period of a specialized trade in books representing the strand of Independent thought which grew into Fifth Monarchism, and her emergence from economic dependency on partnerships to become a publisher in her own right. Mary Westwood's career reveals a level of publishing outside the London book trade and concerned exclusively with
women publisher puritan literature three_case_study look_beyond stereotype woman transmitter business focus career woman widow woman apparent family connection trade third another widow carry business death husband career reconstruct biographical data detail publish output emphasis_place relationship individual sectarian community publish way sectarian material come publish distribute study suggest_way woman inferior legal_status could protect seditious activity reveal inadequacy attempt control press period allen output demonstrate development brief period specialize trade book represent strand independent think grow fifth emergence economic dependency partnership become publisher right mary career reveals level publish outside london book_trade concern exclusively