ELIZA LYNN LINTON
The nineteenth-century British writer, known for her anti-feminist opinions, writes letter to a friend, rescheduling a meeting for the 3rd time, signs name in black ink
Autograph letter signed: "E. Lynn Linton" in black ink. 1 page, 8½x5 flat, 4½x5 folded. Queen Anne's Mansions, St. James Park, London. March 15, 1889. In full: "My dear - a late hangs over your invitations. Yesterday, I was carried off to the [illegible] sea carnival. You do not blame me do you that I threw you over to go with friends there? It is curious how our meeting have come to be broke the 3rd time it will surely be successful...". Eliza Lynn Linton (1822-1898) was a British novelist, essayist, and most memorably an anti-feminist journalist. Born into a family of clergymen, Linton's career began in London in 1845 as the protégé of poet Walter Savage Landor; the following year she released her first novels Azeth, The Egyptian (1847), Amymone (1848), and Realities (1851), none of which had much success. In 1848, Linton became the first female to ever be hired as a salaried journalist when hired to join the staff of the Morning Chronicle and later Household Words. She went on to write more than twenty novels including The True History of Joshua Davidson (1872), Patricia Kemball (1874) and Christopher Kirkland (1885). However, Linton is perhaps best known for her severe anti-feminist criticism, particularly in her essay "The Girl of the Period", a vehement attack on "The New Women" as the educated, professionally-aspiring feminist of the mid-Victorian period was known, which was published by the Saturday Review in 1868, as well as her essay "Wild Women as Politicians" (1891) claiming that politics was naturally the sphere of men, as was fame of any sort; she claimed "Amongst our most renowned women are some who say with their whole heart, 'I would rather have been the wife of a great man, or the mother of a hero, than what I am, famous in my own person'". Normal mailing folds. Toned. Few ink stains throughout. Slightly worn and soiled. Corners rounded. Otherwise, fine condition.