Books in the Pickering Women's Classics series

Biographies of two 17th-century female criminals, both celebrated in their day. These are the first editions published since the 17th century.

"Nature and Art" demonstrates the links between personal experience and institutional oppression. This edition also contains an annotated appendix of Elizabeth Inchbald's humorous essay on novel-writing from "The Artist" (1806).

"New Blazing World" (1666), is one of the earliest pieces of science fiction, telling the story of a voyage to a Utopian World. The Duchess of Newcastle (1623-73) was fascinated by contemporary science, and wove it into her writings. She was a colourful figure as well as a popular author.

Aphra Behn (1640-1689) was a popular poet, author of the influential novel "Oroonoko" and one of the most successful dramatists of the Restoration theatre. This book contains a selection of her poetry.

George Eliot (1819-80) is one of the most widely-read of the 19th-century novelists and story-writers. "Impressions of Theophrastus Such" appeared in 1879, Eliot's last completed work. It consists of 18 short essays narrated by a middle-aged bachelor, Theophrastus.

This edition contains two of Frances Burney's comedies: "The Witlings", (1778-80) which satirizes the bluestockings; and "The Woman Hater" (1800-02), which explores social pretension and gender conflict.