“I mourn their nature, but admire their art”: Anna Seward’s Assertion of Critical Authority in Maturity and Old Age

Francesca Blanch Serrat

doi:10.24197/ersjes.40.2019.11-31

“I mourn their nature, but admire their art”: Anna Seward’s Assertion of Critical Authority in Maturity and Old Age

Francesca Blanch Serrat^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Department of English and German Studies

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review

Abstract

In 1786 an anonymous correspondent appealed to Samuel Johnson’s biographer James Boswell in the pages of the Gentleman’s Magazine. Behind the pseudonym Benvolio was Anna Seward (1742-1809), one of the prominent poetical voices of Britain at the time. From 1786-87 and 1793-94, Seward and Boswell engaged in a public and gradually acrimonious dispute over Johnson’s reputation. This article argues that at the core of the debates was Seward’s assertion of her literary and critical authority, and I contend that age and gender played key roles in Boswell’s dismissal of Seward’s claim.

Translated title of the contribution	“Lamento su naturaleza, pero admiro su arte”: Anna Seward y su afirmación de la autoridad crítica en la madurez y la vejez
Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	11-31
Number of pages	21
Journal	ES Review
Volume	40
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.24197/ersjes.40.2019.11-31
Publication status	Published - 3 Dec 2019

Access to Document

10.24197/ersjes.40.2019.11-31

Cite this

@article{8f996d7297144515a1030a92322ffad5,

title = "“I mourn their nature, but admire their art”: Anna Seward{\textquoteright}s Assertion of Critical Authority in Maturity and Old Age",

abstract = "In 1786 an anonymous correspondent appealed to Samuel Johnson{\textquoteright}s biographer James Boswell in the pages of the Gentleman{\textquoteright}s Magazine. Behind the pseudonym Benvolio was Anna Seward (1742-1809), one of the prominent poetical voices of Britain at the time. From 1786-87 and 1793-94, Seward and Boswell engaged in a public and gradually acrimonious dispute over Johnson{\textquoteright}s reputation. This article argues that at the core of the debates was Seward{\textquoteright}s assertion of her literary and critical authority, and I contend that age and gender played key roles in Boswell{\textquoteright}s dismissal of Seward{\textquoteright}s claim.",

keywords = "Age studies, Anna seward, Gentleman{\textquoteright}s magazine, James boswell, Samuel johnson",

author = "Serrat, {Francesca Blanch}",

note = "Funding Information: *The research for this article has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union{\textquoteright}s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement No 805436), which is hereby gratefully acknowledged. The author would also like to sincerely thank Catherine Addington (University of Virginia) and Jos{\'e} Viera Betancor for their support and constructive criticism of the manuscript. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2019 Ediciones Universidad de Valladolid. All right reserved. Copyright: Copyright 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.",

year = "2019",

month = dec,

day = "3",

doi = "10.24197/ersjes.40.2019.11-31",

language = "English",

volume = "40",

pages = "11--31",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - “I mourn their nature, but admire their art”: Anna Seward’s Assertion of Critical Authority in Maturity and Old Age

AU - Serrat, Francesca Blanch

N1 - Funding Information: *The research for this article has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement No 805436), which is hereby gratefully acknowledged. The author would also like to sincerely thank Catherine Addington (University of Virginia) and José Viera Betancor for their support and constructive criticism of the manuscript. Publisher Copyright: © 2019 Ediciones Universidad de Valladolid. All right reserved. Copyright: Copyright 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

PY - 2019/12/3

Y1 - 2019/12/3

N2 - In 1786 an anonymous correspondent appealed to Samuel Johnson’s biographer James Boswell in the pages of the Gentleman’s Magazine. Behind the pseudonym Benvolio was Anna Seward (1742-1809), one of the prominent poetical voices of Britain at the time. From 1786-87 and 1793-94, Seward and Boswell engaged in a public and gradually acrimonious dispute over Johnson’s reputation. This article argues that at the core of the debates was Seward’s assertion of her literary and critical authority, and I contend that age and gender played key roles in Boswell’s dismissal of Seward’s claim.

AB - In 1786 an anonymous correspondent appealed to Samuel Johnson’s biographer James Boswell in the pages of the Gentleman’s Magazine. Behind the pseudonym Benvolio was Anna Seward (1742-1809), one of the prominent poetical voices of Britain at the time. From 1786-87 and 1793-94, Seward and Boswell engaged in a public and gradually acrimonious dispute over Johnson’s reputation. This article argues that at the core of the debates was Seward’s assertion of her literary and critical authority, and I contend that age and gender played key roles in Boswell’s dismissal of Seward’s claim.

KW - Age studies

KW - Anna seward

KW - Gentleman’s magazine

KW - James boswell

KW - Samuel johnson

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85093705582&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.24197/ersjes.40.2019.11-31

DO - 10.24197/ersjes.40.2019.11-31

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85093705582

SN - 2531-1646

VL - 40

SP - 11

EP - 31

JO - ES Review

JF - ES Review

ER -

“I mourn their nature, but admire their art”: Anna Seward’s Assertion of Critical Authority in Maturity and Old Age

Abstract

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Cite this