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Bluestockings

The First Women's Movement

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Bluestockings

By: Susannah Gibson
Narrated by: Fenella Fudge
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About this listen

 A NEW YORKER AND NEW YORK TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR

'Sophisticated, rich and skilful . . . highlights the extraordinary place these women carved out for themselves against the odds' New Statesman

'Remarkable . . . The Bluestockings bust out of the pages with unmistakable glee . . . their complexity and individuality shine through' BBC History

'Spirited, lively and scholarly' Literary Review

'A story of sisterhood and empowerment' PHILIPPA GREGORY

In Britain in the 1750s, women had no power and no rights - all money and property belonged to their fathers or husbands. A brave group risked everything to think and live as they wished, despite the sneers of contemporaries who argued that books frazzled female brains and damaged their wombs.

Meet the Bluestockings:

ELIZABETH MONTAGU hosted a series of glittering salons in her London drawing room, where a circle of women and men discussed theatre, philosophy and the classics, competing to outdo each other in wit and brilliance. Discover how she took on Voltaire and won.

Whilst nursing twelve children and helping run her bullying husband's brewery, HESTER THRALE took key writers under her wing - Dr Johnson moved into her house for several years. Her vivid diaries offer a powerful chronicle of what happened when she finally decided to follow her heart.

Find out how poetess and former milkmaid ANN YEARSLEY fought back when her snobbish patron refused to hand over her earnings because she was working class and thus irresponsible . . .

Or how CATHERINE MACAULEY's eight volume history of England caused such a sensation that she became a leading light in the American Revolution - while her unorthodox love-life scandalised her contemporaries . . .

In this brilliant book, Susannah Gibson explores the lives and legacies of these and other figures who went on to inspire writers and thinkers from Mary Wollstonecraft to Virginia Woolf and lead the way for feminism.

Bluestockings: the unexpected and inspiring stories of the forgotten heroines of Britain's very first women's movement.©2024 Susannah Gibson 18th Century Gender Studies Modern Social Sciences Women Marriage Inspiring England

Critic reviews

Remarkable . . . this intricate story weaves together the many luminaries and intellectuals of 18th-century life . . . The Bluestockings burst out of the pages with unmistakable glee. Aided by Gibson's use of first-hand accounts from the women themselves, their complexity and individuality shine through . . . With beautifully written prose, Gibson allows the 18th century to be a delicately crafted backdrop to the lives she has chosen to explore
Gibson evokes deftly the extent to which things had to fall into place for these women to establish their reputations . . . [the] structure allows for a nuanced understanding of each woman
Engrossing . . . the legacy of the Bluestockings made itself heard in the lives of other women writers and thinkers, quiet but compelling, like whispering in a library . . . echoing through the generations
A lively account [of] a social and political movement that would, over the next two hundred and fifty years, transform the expectations and conditions of women around the world
A story of sisterhood, empowerment - and also rivalry and rage. Perhaps the greatest pleasure for the reader is to see the joy that the bluestockings take in reading, thinking and writing. There are men and there are constant pregnancies but the women are profoundly and lastingly engaged with the written word (Philippa Gregory)
Rich and sophisticated . . . Gibson's balancing act, skilfully managed, is to highlight the extraordinary place these women carved out for themselves against the odds in 18th-century society, without glossing over aspects less congenial to 21st century readers . . . As Gibson writes, the legacy of the bluestockings was to lay the foundations for a whole new world-view. It was the basis of all that followed: for women's right to an education, to earn an income, to vote, to bodily autonomy. It is a call that echoes down the centuries, and attempts to silence it continue
Brilliant, earnest, quietly unconventional, the Bluestockings are the unsung pioneers of early British feminism. Their networks empowered women, while their salons stressing conversation and civility opposed the misogynous boozy male culture of the 18th century. Blending story, history and delicious anecdote, Susannah Gibson's book opens a sparkling window onto this extraordinary society of engaged, energetic and very witty women (Janet Todd, author of JANE AUSTEN AND SHELLEY IN THE GARDEN)
A lively portrait of 18th-century Englishwomen who claimed a place for themselves in the nation's intellectual life . . . Gibson offers vivid sketches of all these women . . . The author's engaging account honors the determination and charm with which her subjects seized as much freedom as society would allow them
All stars
Most relevant
A remarkable book that introduces the extraordinary movement of women and charts their osmosis into a Women’s Movement. A subject of history all too little presented and studied. Would highly recommend this work. The author is to be applauded.

Clarity of thought. Fast moving.

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Reading this book feels like being right there in the middle of all the Bluestockings, with their stories, successes and tragedies. What a wonderful way to immerse yourself in history! There are so many parallels to today and it puts women's movements in much better context for me.
The narration is brilliant and so fitting for this book. I'd recommend this book wholeheartedly.

So joyful, interesting and reflective

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A fascinating telling of the lives of these remarkable and very interesting women. Very well researched and beautifully told by Susannah Gibson.

A Beautiful Account of the lives of the Bluestockings.

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Lively, engaging and detailed account of the world of these women and how they connected to each other and to famous names of the time. The impact of these women on Mary Wollstonecraft in particular and on later generations of women writers is astutely recognised. The narration by Fenella Fudge is fabulous - clear and expressive.

Excellent retelling of the lives and times of these women

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