Famous Female Authors of the 18th and 19th Centuries
We live in an age when anyone can write and get published, particularly with the advent of self-publishing and e-books. Remember when self-publishing didn’t exist, when there was no such thing as a Kindle or Nook?
In the past, it wasn’t easy to get one’s manuscript accepted by a publisher and printed so it would, hopefully, be well-liked by the public. Of course, there was still an increasing number of specialized publishers even before the e-book, giving writers a somewhat better chance at publication.
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But before the specialized publishers started popping up, one had to hope that a bigger publishing house would accept their work. However, even then, we’re talking about a time when both men and women were accepted as authors.
I want to go back even further to a period when men were the primary authors one expected to find in a bookstore, and if a woman was a writer, they more than likely had a nom de plume.
I’m sure many more qualify to be on this list, and I welcome readers to put in suggestions (I always love finding a new author’s work to explore). My order is not very fixed, and it will likely change depending on my mood, what day it is, etc.
And really, how can one realistically stuff such amazing women in history into something as finite as an ordered list? They have made too big an impact, and each has their own strong points.
So, the list I’m making is simply a suggestion and more of a random ordering, but I felt it was important to give some kind of nod to the first women writers.
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I have gathered a list of poets and authors in Romantic, Gothic, mythological, and numerous other genres.
One of the authors has published work in the 20th century, but since my favorite book was published in the 19th century, I have included her.
If you haven’t read any of their work, I highly suggest doing so. So, enough chatter from me; let’s get started.
At a time when women were considered rebels and forced to hide their identities to be authors, these women stand out and deserve our recognition.
18TH AND 19TH CENTURY WOMEN WRITERS
1. Jane Austen (1775-1817)
Pride & Prejudice
Jane Austen is best known for her novels Pride and Prejudice, Persuasion, Sense and Sensibility, Emma, Northanger Abbey, and Mansfield Park.
2. Charlotte Bronte (1816-1855)
Jane Eyre
Charlotte Bronte is best known for her novels Jane Eyre and Villette.
3. Emily Bronte (1818-1848)
Wuthering Heights
Emily Bronte is known for her novel Wuthering Heights.
4. Charlotte Lennox (1730-1804)
The Female Quixote
Charlotte Lennox is best known for her novel The Female Quixote (1752).
5. SUSANNA ROWSON (1762-1824)
CHARLOTTE TEMPLE
Susanna Rowson is known for her novel Charlotte Temple.
6. George Eliot (1819-1880)
Middlemarch
George Eliot is best known for novels such as Middlemarch, Daniel Deronda, and Silas Marner.
7. Mary Shelley (1797-1851)
Frankenstein
Mary Shelley is best known for her groundbreaking novel Frankenstein.
8. Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-1797)
A Vindication of the Rights of Women
Mary Wollstonecraft is best known for A Vindication of the Rights of Women.
9. Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888)
Little Women
Louisa May Alcott is best known for her classic children’s novel Little Women.
10. Ann Radcliffe (1764-1823)
The Mysteries of Udolpho
Ann Radcliffe is known for her gothic novel The Mysteries of Udolpho.
11. Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)
Poet
Emily Dickinson is famous for her beautiful poems.
12. Augusta, Lady Gregory (1852-1932)
Folklorist
Lady Augusta Gregory is known for her work as a folklorist and dramatist.
13. Anne Bronte (1820-1849)
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
Anne Bronte is known for her revolutionary novel The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.
14. Elizabeth Gaskell (1810-1865)
North & South
Elizabeth Gaskell is famous for her novels North and South and Cranford. She is also known for working with Charles Dickens and being friends with Charlotte Bronte.
15. Frances Burney (1752-1840)
Evelina
Frances Burney is an underrated writer known for Evelina.
16. Clara Reeve (1729-1807)
The Old English Baron
Clara Reeve was an English female novelist famous for her Gothic novel The Old English Baron.
17. Mary Davys (1674-1732)
The Reform’d Coquet
Mary Davys was known for her novels, poems, and plays!
18. Elizabeth von Arnim (1866-1941)
Elizabeth and Her German Garden
Elizabeth von Arnim is famous for her books Elizabeth and Her German Garden (1898) and The Enchanted April.
19. Kate Chopin (1850-1904)
The Awakening
Kate Chopin was an American author famous for her novel The Awakening.
20. Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806-1861)
Poet
Elizabeth Barrett Browning was a famous Victorian poet who was part of the literary movement of Romanticism.
Did you see your favorite female author of this time period on the list? Who are your favorite female authors? Please send us a message!
Featured image: The Brontë Sisters by Patrick Branwell.
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Would like to see Joyce Carol Oates noted here, at well, with great authors !
She’s great! But this is a list for female authors from the 1700s and 1800s.
Then why is Aphra Behn included in the list?
I agree. Aphra Behn was from the 1600’s. She does not belong on a list of authors from the 1700’s and 1800’s.
Well, this article was from a long time ago and this was clearly an honest mistake. If we update/redo it in the future, we’ll make sure it’s fixed.
So? What is wrong with 1700s and 1800s?
Ellen G. White wrote more books than any other female writer. Would she qualify?
How about Susanna Rowson? She wrote Victoria and Charlotte: A Tale of Truths (Later became Charlotte Temple and the first bestseller in the U.S.) while in England. 🙂 Both published in the 1780s and 1790s.
Another great choice!
Beatrix Potter surely warrants a mention …also for her stirring work as an environmentalist in the Lake District…
Thank you all for your comments—- I have new authors to seek and devour!
What about Edith Wharton born 1824… First Pulitzer winner.
What about Ann of Swansea who wrote an opera in the US in the 1790s, was a published poet in London in the 1780s and a prolific novelist in the 1810s.