Books by Julia Briggs

In A Woman of Passion, Julia Briggs chronicles the life of author Edith Nesbit who is credited with being the first modern writer for children and the creator of the children's adventure story. Nesbit recorded her life with varying degrees of honesty in verse and prose, and while she seldom wrote entirely openly of her own experiences, she seldom wrote convincingly of anything else. In this fascinating read, Julia Briggs attempts to fill in the gaps of Nesbit's autobiographical material, painting an intriguing portrait of the famous author.

Analyzes how authorial talent and cultural contexts combine, in often unpredictable ways, to generate literary success. Whether examining eighteenth-century chapbooks, science schoolbooks or Victorian adventures, this volume shows how historical and publishing contexts are important in determining which books will succeed and which will fail.