“Not Just Jane restores seven of England’s most fascinating and subversive literary voices to their rightful places in history. Shelley DeWees tells each woman writer’s story with wit, passion, and an astute understanding of the society in which she lived and wrote.”

—Dr. Amanda Foreman, New York Times bestselling author of Georgiana: Duchess of Devonshire

Jane Austen and the Brontës endure as British literature’s leading ladies (and for good reason)—but were these reclusive parsons’ daughters really the only writing women of their day? In a witty work of feminist literary history, this fascinating nonfiction debut explores the extraordinary lives and work of seven long-forgotten authoresses, and asks: Why did their considerable fame and influence, and a vibrant culture of female creativity, fade away? And what are we missing because of it?

You’ve likely read at least one Jane Austen novel (or at least seen a film one). Chances are you’ve also read Jane Eyre; if you were an exceptionally moody teenager, you might have even read Wuthering Heights. English majors might add George Eliot or Virginia Woolf to this list…but then the trail ends. Were there truly so few women writing anything of note during the dynamic Georgian and Victorian eras?

In Not Just Jane, Shelley DeWees weaves history, biography, and critical analysis into a rip-roaring narrative of the nation’s fabulous, yet mostly forgotten, female literary heritage. As the country, and women’s roles within it, evolved, so did the publishing industry, driving legions of ladies to pick up their pens. Focusing on the creative contributions and personal stories of seven astonishing women—among them pioneers of detective fiction and the modern fantasy novel—DeWees assembles a riveting, intimate, and ruthlessly unromanticized portrait of female life, and the literary landscape, during this era. In doing so, she comes closer to understanding how a society could forget so many of these women, who all enjoyed success and critical acclaim during their time, and realizes why, now more than ever, it’s vital that we remember these foundational voices in women's history.

Rediscover Charlotte Turner Smith, Helen Maria Williams, Mary Robinson, Catherine Crowe, Sara Coleridge, Dinah Mulock Craik, and Mary Elizabeth Braddon.

Not Just Jane finally gives these trailblazing women writers their due, exploring:

Seven Forgotten Authoresses: Rediscover Charlotte Turner Smith, Helen Maria Williams, Mary Robinson, Catherine Crowe, Sara Coleridge, Dinah Mulock Craik, and Mary Elizabeth Braddon—bestsellers and pioneers in their time.
Literary History Reimagined: A rip-roaring narrative that blends biography, social history, and critical analysis to explore why a vibrant culture of female creativity faded from memory.
Genre-Defining Pioneers: Meet the astonishing women who pioneered detective fiction, the modern fantasy novel, and politically charged war journalism long before they were established genres.
Beyond Austen and the Brontës: An essential feminist history that asks what we’ve been missing by focusing only on a few famous names from 18th and 19th-century Britain.