This module explores the position of the female author in the Romantic period. By the end of the eighteenth century, the increasing participation of women in the literary marketplace had brought both new opportunities and, for some, a heightened awareness of the constraints imposed by a male-dominated culture. Studying works by Jane Austen, Anna Barbauld, the gothic novelist Ann Radcliffe, Mary Wollstonecraft and others, this module will examine how women writers responded to these challenges and helped to shape the literary culture of Romanticism. The module will address key topics such as the rights of woman, education, the literary marketplace, the cultural construction of femininity, women and contemporary politics, and relationships between gender and genre. While concerned with the historical conditions that influenced Romantic women's writing, the module will also consider a variety of critical approaches, such as feminist, psychoanalytic and post-colonial perspectives.