Hester Chapone

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Hester Chapone (Mulso) (1727–1801), writer of advice books for women, was the daughter of a gentleman of Northamptonshire. She was married to a solicitor, who died a few months afterwards, and then took up a career as a writer. Self-educated, she was one of the learned ladies who gathered around Elizabeth Montagu, and was the author of Letters on the Improvement of the Mind and Miscellanies.

The former was first written for her 15-year-old niece, in 1773, but by 1800 it had been through at least 16 editions. A further 12 editions appeared until 1829, at least one of them a French translation. They focused on encouraging rational understanding through the reading of the Bible, history and literature. The girl was also supposed to study book-keeping, household management and botany, geology, astronomy. Only sentimental novels were to be avoided.

Mary Wollstonecraft later singled it out as one of the few examples of the self-improvement genre deserving of praise.

(See Elizabeth Eger and Lucy Peltz, Brilliant Women: 18th-Century Bluestockings, National Portrait Gallery London, 2008.)

This article incorporates public domain text from: Cousin, John William (1910). A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature. London, J.M. Dent & sons; New York, E.P. Dutton.