ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book analyzes prefatory material to identify the anxieties and the preoccupations that male and female authors had about their role and about their relationship with their target audience. At the core of this belief stood the conviction that humans had the power to shape their environment and to bring about progress through increased knowledge and better education. Discontent with the status quo appeared as a consistent topos in conduct books and colored, descriptions of educational practices and social conventions prevailing in society at the time. Girls had made their debut as readers before the eighteenth century, but for centuries, religious practice and piety were the only topics deemed appropriate for such an audience. Literary historiography relies on the frequency and number of printings or editions, working from the logical assumption that a high number indicated strong public interest and great demand.
