author
Charlotte Lennox
d. 1804
A sharp, witty voice of the 18th century, this Scottish-born writer is best remembered for The Female Quixote, a lively novel that playfully examines romance, reading, and social expectations. She built a literary career in London and earned the respect of major figures including Samuel Johnson.
1 Audiobook
The Female Quixote; or, The Adventures of Arabella, v. 1-2
by Charlotte Lennox
About the author
Born Charlotte Ramsay around 1729 or 1730, probably in Gibraltar, she became a novelist, poet, playwright, translator, editor, and literary critic whose career flourished in London. She is most often remembered for The Female Quixote (1752), the book that made her reputation and is still widely read today.
Lennox wrote across several genres and supported herself through her pen at a time when that was difficult for women to do. Her work attracted admiration from important literary contemporaries, and her circle included well-known figures such as Samuel Johnson, Henry Fielding, and Samuel Richardson.
Her later years were less secure, but her place in literary history endured. She died in London on January 4, 1804, leaving behind a body of work that shows both ambition and range, from fiction and drama to translation and criticism.