Ambitious Heights: Writing, Friendship, Love – The Jewsbury Sisters, Felicia Hemans, and Jane Welsh Carlyle (Routledge Library Editions: Women and Writing)

How did the Victorian woman cope with the image of herself as a writer? What were the constraints on female friendships in a world centred on the pre-eminence of the husband? How significant for an ambitious woman were her politics about men? At the heart of this book, originally published in 1990, is a friendship between two women: Jane Carlyle and the novelist Geraldine Jewsbury. But it was a difficult friendship, and in its difficulty lies much that is illuminating: about nineteenth-century domestic ideology; about writing for a market, and female fame; and about the complex ambivalences between women. Examining aspects of their lives, writing, and relationships, alongside those of two other writers – Felicia Hemans and Geraldine’s sister, Maria Jane – Norma Clarke provides a subtle and illuminating discussion of the possibilities that were open to women in the Victorian age. Cover Half Title Title Page Copyright Page Original Title Page Original Copyright Page Dedication Table of Contents List of Illustrations Acknowledgements Introduction 1 Contrary to Custom 2 The Pride of Literature 3 Dragoon Kinds of Women 4 Difficulties and Danger 5 Work 6 The Comforts of Others 7 Of the Female Persuasion 8 Telling Truths Appendix Notes Further Reading Index At the heart of this book, first published in 1990, is a friendship between two women: Jane Carlyle and the novelist Geraldine Jewsbury. It was a difficult friendship, and in its difficulty lies much that is illuminating: about 19th-century domestic ideology; writing for a market, and female fame; and the complex ambivalences between women. Examines the friendship between writer Geraldine Jewsbury and her friend, Jane Carlyle, which mirrored Geraldine's elder sister's friendship with the poet Felicia Hemans. Explores these women's lives, writing, relationships and views on men in this illumination of the Victorian age. This 8-volume collection contains titles originally published between 1976 and 2004. It covers women's writing from a variety of perspectives, exploring the options open to women writers through the centuries, which allowed women's voices to be heard through their writing. Paperback in very good condition. The cover is a little worn on the edges and spine sides. The binding is sound with clear text. CM Norma Clarke. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 241-242) And Index.