The Female Short Story - A Chronological History - Volume 1: Aphra Behn to Harriet Beecher Stowe
Written by Aphra Behn, Eliza Haywood and Mary Shelley
Narrated by Eve Karpf, Janet Fullerlove and Richard Mitchley
()
About this audiobook
Some of our earliest memories are of our mothers telling us bedtime stories. This is not to demote the value of fathers but more to promote the often-overshadowed talents of the gentler sex.
Perhaps ‘gentler’ is a word that we should re-evaluate. In the course of literary history it is men who dominated by opportunity and with their stranglehold on the resources, both financial and technological, who brought their words to a wider audience. Men often placed women on a pedestal from where their talented words would not threaten their own.
In these stories we begin with the original disrupter and renegade author Aphra Behn. A peek at her c.v. shows an astounding capacity and leaves us wondering at just how she did all that.
In those less modern days to be a woman, even ennobled, was to be seen as second class. You literally were chattel and had almost no rights in marriage. As Charlotte Smith famously said your role as wife was little more than ‘legal prostitute’. From such a despicable place these authors have used their talents and ideas and helped redress that situation.
Slowly at first. Privately printed, often anonymously or under the cloak of a male pseudonym their words spread. Their stories admired and, usually, their role still obscured from rightful acknowledgement.
Aided by more advanced technology, the 1700’s began to see a steady stream of female writers until by the 1900’s mass market publishing saw short stories by female authors from all the strata of society being avidly read by everyone. Their names are a rollcall of talent and ‘can do’ spirit and society is richer for their works.
In literature at least women are now acknowledged as equals, true behind the scenes little has changed but if (and to mis-quote Jane Austen) there is one universal truth, it is that ideas change society. These women’s most certainly did and will continue to do so as they easily write across genres, from horror and ghost stories to tender tales of love and making your way in society’s often grueling rut. They will not be silenced, their ideas and passion move emotions, thoughts and perhaps more importantly our ingrained view of what every individual human being is capable of.
It is because of their desire to speak out, their desire to add their talents to the bias around them that we perhaps live in more enlightened, almost equal, times.
Within these stories you will also find very occasional examples of historical prejudice. A few words here and there which in today’s world some may find inappropriate or even offensive. It is not our intention to make anyone uncomfortable but to show that the world in order to change must reconcile itself to the actual truth rather than put it out of sight. Context is everything, both to understand and to illuminate the path forward. The author’s words are set, our reaction to them encourages our change.
01 - The Female Short Story. A Chronological History - An Introduction - Volume 1
02 - The Unfortunate Bride or The Blind Lady a Beauty by Aphra Behn
03 - Fantomina or, Love in a Maze by Eliza Haywood - Part 1
04 - Fantomina or, Love in a Maze by Eliza Haywood - Part 2
05 - The Story of Sir Bertrand by Anna Laetitia Barbauld
06 - Betty Brown, the St Giles Orange Girl by Hannah More
07 - The Changeling by Mary Lamb
08 - The White Pigeon by Maria Edgeworth
09 - Cousin Mary by Mary Russell Mitford
13 - The Mourner by Mary Shelley
11 - The Prediction by Mary Diana Dods writing as David Lyndsey
12 - The Quadroons by Lydia Maria Child
Aphra Behn
Aphra Behn (1640-1689) was one of the first Englishwomen to earn a living from writing. She was a playwright, poet, translator, and fiction writer during the Restoration era. Behn’s plays and writing were well-received by the public, but she often found herself in legal trouble or being judged harshly because critics did not like that she was a successful woman. Behn remained a strong advocate for herself, and argued that women should have the same education opportunities as men, paving the way for more women to become writers.
More audiobooks from Aphra Behn
Oroonoko or The Royal Slave (Unabridged) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Power of Poetry - Poems To Mend A Broken Heart: Beautiful poems that touch the heart for those suffering from heartbreak Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Poetry of Aphra Behn Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Song (Behn version) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOroonoko Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to The Female Short Story - A Chronological History - Volume 1
Related audiobooks
Wieland Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5A Chapter in the History of the Tyrone Family: Classic Tales Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Twice Told Tales Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Common Reader: Volume 2 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLigeia Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Zastrozzi, A Romance Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMorella Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Moving the Mountain Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHerland: Classic Tales Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Yellow Wallpaper and Other Stories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Rats - A Short Story Collection: The horror of rats assails us in this engrossing inescapable collection Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWhen I Was A Witch Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5B. J. Harrison Reads The War of the Worlds Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEmma: A Fragment of a Story Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Castles of Athlin and Dunbayne Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMetzengerstein Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Black Cat Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Turn of the Screw Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5The Foundations of Fiction - Vampires: Hear the stories that gave birth to the modern genre craze Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFrankenstein: The Lost Manuscript Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Female Short Story - A Chronological History - Volume 3: Charlotte Riddell to Mary E Penn Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHavisham: A Novel Inspired by Dickens’s Great Expectations Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Metamorphosis Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Haunted House Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Dark Love - Short Stories: Love mixed with vampires, ghosts, murders, abuse & more Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWuthering Heights The Original Manuscript Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Cask of Amontillado Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Dracula Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dead Connection Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Anthologies For You
Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Vintage Christmas: A Collection of Classic Stories and Poems Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Marple: Twelve New Mysteries Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5FaceOff Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Book of Extraordinary Impossible Crimes and Puzzling Deaths: The Best New Original Stories of the Genre Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5MatchUp Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Oz Reimagined: New Tales from the Emerald City and Beyond Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Kink: Stories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dark Screams: Volume One Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Humour - A Short Story Collection Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Stories from Suffragette City Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Shadow Over Innsmouth Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Greatest Short Stories of All Time Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wavedancer Benefit Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Timeless Classics Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Flight or Fright Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Best American Short Stories 2021 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsReunion Beach: Stories Inspired by Dorothea Benton Frank Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Come Join Us By the Fire: 35 Short Horror Tales from Nightfire Books Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dangerous Women: Original Stories from Today's Greatest Suspense Writers Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Anonymous Sex Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Best American Short Stories 2022 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Howls From the Dark Ages: An Anthology of Medieval Horror Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Behaving Badly Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Other Terrors: An Inclusive Anthology Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Howls From Hell: A Horror Anthology Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The House of Love and Death Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Perfect Crime Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Classic American Short Stories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Improbable Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Related categories
Reviews for The Female Short Story - A Chronological History - Volume 1
0 ratings0 reviews