Tender geographies : women and the origins of the novel in France

Women's Places, Women's Spaces -- The Politics Of Tenderness : Madeleine De Scudéry And The Generation Of 1640-1660 -- What Is An Author : Lafayette [marie-madeleine Pioche De La Vergne, Comtesse De La Fayette; Madame De La Fayette] And The Generation Of 1660-1680 -- Divorce, Desire, And The Novel : The Notorious Women Of 1690-1715 -- The Origin Of Novels : Gender, Class, And The Writing Of French Literary History -- Appendix: Bibliography Of Women Writers, 1640-1715. Joan Dejean. Bibliography Of Women Writers, 1640-1715: P. [201]-221. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [271]-284) And Index. This treatise argues that women writers were the originators of the modern novel in France. It uses the novels of Scudery and Lafayette to illustrate how such works undermined French tradition by suggesting that women had a right to choose their husbands and to lead independent lives.