ABSTRACT
Elizabeth Hamilton used her Memoirs of Modern Philosophers not only to accept but also to reaffirm the correlation between female philosopher and sexual proclivity. Hamilton's use of what was a popular and familiar genre by 1800 in an unfamiliar way challenged her readers, male and female, to think carefully. While Hamilton's indirect approach appears to have shielded her from the outrage and ostracism that befell radicals such as Mary Wollstonecraft and Mary Hays it has not been without a price. Hamilton's interest in mathematics in Memoirs of Modern Philosophers, while never the main focus is always present as a subtext. Her deployment of mathematical knowledge educates her reader in the rudiments of accounting, fiscal management and domestic economy providing practical knowledge about financial terms such as compounding interest. Hamilton uses her life story to provide several strikingly autobiographical pictures of competent, independent, active women living alongside male peers but neither dominated by nor dependant upon them.
