Laetitia Pilkington's memoirs caused a scandal when they first appeared, owing to their details about her divorce and the many would-be Lotharios who subsequently pestered her. This edition includes explanatory notes and a census of early editions.
"It is Dr. Elias's notes which make this edition so important. . . . He is a meticulous scholar, not prepared to take second-hand information. Thus the haphazard guesses about the lives and relationships of various figures of 18th century Ireland, made years ago but unquestionably repeated time after time, are here corrected on the basis of fact. The second volume of this edition is made up entirely of Dr. Elias's commentary and notes, and it proves to be not only an invaluable garnering of cultural and historical facts about mid18th century Ireland, but a witty and entertaining read in its own right. There is no doubt that Dr. Elias has set an editorial standard for those involved in the study of Irish 18th century writing which no future editor can afford to ignore."--"Irish Independent"
"Professor Elias is to be thanked for bringing her back to life."--"Irish Arts Review"
"The value of the "Memoirs" for the modern scholar is twofold. First, it gives us one of the most detailed contemporary accounts of Jonathan Swift, as well as unique information on the literary world of Dublin in the 1730s. . . . The second value of the "Memoirs" is as one of the earliest prose texts to be published by an Irish woman. While it is not unusual for women in the early eighteenth century to publish collections of poems, it was rare for a woman to write about her life in such a personal fashion as Pilkington chose to do. . . . The "Memoirs" also provide fascinating insights into the mind of a woman from a middle-class Dublin background who was ostracized by respectable society and was aware that she would never recover her reputation, even if she led an exemplary moral life. Pilkington communicates an awareness of the inferior status of women in society, railing against men (including Swift) who did not accept women as their intellectual equals and who favoured women who were docile and illiterate."--"Irish Historical Studies"
The value of the "Memoirs" for the modern scholar is twofold. First, it gives us one of the most detailed contemporary accounts of Jonathan Swift, as well as unique information on the literary world of Dublin in the 1730s. . . . The second value of the "Memoirs" is as one of the earliest prose texts to be published by an Irish woman. While it is not unusual for women in the early eighteenth century to publish collections of poems, it was rare for a woman to write about her life in such a personal fashion as Pilkington chose to do. . . . The "Memoirs" also provide fascinating insights into the mind of a woman from a middle-class Dublin background who was ostracized by respectable society and was aware that she would never recover her reputation, even if she led an exemplary moral life. Pilkington communicates an awareness of the inferior status of women in society, railing against men (including Swift) who did not accept women as their intellectual equals and who favoured women who were docile and illiterate.--"Irish Historical Studies"
It is Dr. Elias's notes which make this edition so important. . . . He is a meticulous scholar, not prepared to take second-hand information. Thus the haphazard guesses about the lives and relationships of various figures of 18th century Ireland, made years ago but unquestionably repeated time after time, are here corrected on the basis of fact. The second volume of this edition is made up entirely of Dr. Elias's commentary and notes, and it proves to be not only an invaluable garnering of cultural and historical facts about mid18th century Ireland, but a witty and entertaining read in its own right. There is no doubt that Dr. Elias has set an editorial standard for those involved in the study of Irish 18th century writing which no future editor can afford to ignore.--"Irish Independent"
Professor Elias is to be thanked for bringing her back to life.--"Irish Arts Review"
The value of the Memoirs for the modern scholar is twofold. First, it gives us one of the most detailed contemporary accounts of Jonathan Swift, as well as unique information on the literary world of Dublin in the 1730s. . . . The second value of the Memoirs is as one of the earliest prose texts to be published by an Irish woman. While it is not unusual for women in the early eighteenth century to publish collections of poems, it was rare for a woman to write about her life in such a personal fashion as Pilkington chose to do. . . . The Memoirs also provide fascinating insights into the mind of a woman from a middle-class Dublin background who was ostracized by respectable society and was aware that she would never recover her reputation, even if she led an exemplary moral life. Pilkington communicates an awareness of the inferior status of women in society, railing against men (including Swift) who did not accept women as their intellectual equals and who favoured women who were docile and illiterate.
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Irish Historical StudiesIt is Dr. Elias's notes which make this edition so important. . . . He is a meticulous scholar, not prepared to take second-hand information. Thus the haphazard guesses about the lives and relationships of various figures of 18th century Ireland, made years ago but unquestionably repeated time after time, are here corrected on the basis of fact. The second volume of this edition is made up entirely of Dr. Elias's commentary and notes, and it proves to be not only an invaluable garnering of cultural and historical facts about mid18th century Ireland, but a witty and entertaining read in its own right. There is no doubt that Dr. Elias has set an editorial standard for those involved in the study of Irish 18th century writing which no future editor can afford to ignore.
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Irish IndependentProfessor Elias is to be thanked for bringing her back to life.
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Irish Arts Review
