Women's Narratives of the Early Americas and the Formation of Empire - Hardcover

by Mary McAleer Balkun (Editor), Susan C. Imbarrato (Editor)

Speaking to the range of female experience during Early America, this rich collection conveys the acts of bravery, protest, and survival of women that contributed to the formation of an empire. Letters, diaries, and narratives, among other texts, serve as the point of entry into the overlooked topic of the female body as a site of contestation.

Back Jacket

The essays in this collection examine the connections between the forces of empire and women's lives in the early Americas, in particular the ways their narratives contributed to empire formation. Focusing on the female body as a site of contestation, the essays describe acts of bravery, subversion, and survival expressed in a variety of genres, including the saga, letter, diary, captivity narrative, travel narrative, verse, sentimental novel, and autobiography. The volume also speaks to a range of female experience, across the Americas and across time, from the Viking exploration to early nineteenth-century United States, challenging scholars to reflect on the implications of early American literature even to the present day.

Author Biography

Mary McAleer Balkun is Professor of English at Seton Hall University, USA. She is the author of The American Counterfeit: Authenticity and Identity in American Literature and Culture and an associate editor of The Greenwood Encyclopedia of American Poets and Poetry.

Susan C. Imbarrato is Professor of English at Minnesota State University Moorhead, USA. She is the author of Traveling Women: Narrative Visions of Early America and a past President of the Society of Early Americanists.