Shaping the Legacy of 18th-Century Women: Introduction

The paper discusses the ongoing efforts in the recovery and reappraisal of 18th-century women writers, emphasizing the importance of understanding their legacy and contributions to literature. It highlights the work of various scholars who analyze the impact of different narrative forms, genres, and institutions on the legacy of women in that era and calls for a nuanced reading of women’s literary history that avoids simplistic categorizations. The authors advocate for an awareness of the historical context in which these women’s works were produced and suggest pathways for shaping their legacy in contemporary scholarship.