Women, Oral Culture, and Book History in the Romantic-Era British Archipelago: Charlotte Brooke, Anne Grant, and Felicia Hemans

abstract:This essay considers Charlotte Brooke in Ireland, Anne Grant in Scotland, and Felicia Hemans in Wales, analyzing the various ways in which they promoted their nations' oral culture during what is now called the Romantic era. Examining these women and their intermedial work can help us build a fuller picture of women's contributions to book history throughout the British Isles, as well as better appreciate the role of orality, including voice and song, within a book history tradition frequently oriented toward print and manuscript. The essay also discusses these women writers' subsequent disappearance from their respective national canons, as projects to legitimize the Irish, Scottish, and Welsh nations have focused overwhelmingly on the printed productions of male creative writers.