ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book examines Harriet Martineau's early career, especially focusing on the development of her proto-feminist activism. It also examines the development of the middle-class radical press and its connection to women's increasing involvement in philanthropic forms of literary activism. The book describes a general shift in Elizabeth Gaskell's career during the 1850s, from an engagement with the discourse on the Condition-of-England Question to an emphasis on the Woman Question. It analyzes George Eliot's 'Silly Novels by Lady Novelists' and 'Amos Barton', and highlights the connection between the fashioning of her complex literary persona and periodical discourses on authorial gender and identity. The book also analyzes Eliot's contributions and responses to the controversies, especially her social problem novel, Felix Holt, and its companion essay 'Felix Holt's Address to Working Men'. It investigates Christina Rossetti's contributions to the short-lived Pre-Raphaelite journal, The Germ.
