The History of Miss Betsy Thoughtless (1751) is a novel by Eliza Haywood. Blending tragedy and comedy, Haywood explores the intersection of ambition, family, and desire to reveal how women so often fall victim to the whims of men. The History of Miss Betsy Thoughtless has been recognized as one of the first novels in English literature to depict the development of an independent heroine, as well as to move away from the more popular genre of amatory fiction toward the marriage plot. Widely read in the eighteenth century, Haywood influenced such authors as Fanny Burney and Jane Austen. Having completed her education at an all-girls boarding school, Betsy Thoughtless moves to the city of London. For the first time, she finds herself thrust into the orbit of young and marriageable men, whose attention and affections she craves, though remains cautious to reciprocate. Betsy knows the dangers inherent to sexual impropriety—pregnancy out of wedlock would all but guarantee her a life of poverty and misfortune, not to mention the shame it would bring to her aristocratic family. Despite these pressures, Betsy finds a way to enjoy single life while learning to recognize the signs of deceitful, unworthy men. When marriage does come, she soon realizes the institution is far from perfect. Unhappy, she grows as a person and looks for a way to regain her former independence. This edition of Eliza Haywood’s The History of Miss Betsy Thoughtless is a classic of English literature reimagined for modern readers.
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Eliza Haywood (1693-1756) was an English novelist, poet, playwright, actress, and publisher. Notoriously private, Haywood is a major figure in English literature about whom little is known for certain. Scholars believe she was born Eliza Fowler in Shropshire or London, but are unclear on the socioeconomic status of her family. She first appears in the public record in 1715, when she performed in an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Timon of Athens in Dublin. Famously portrayed as a woman of ill-repute in Alexander Pope’s Dunciad (1743), it is believed that Haywood had been deserted by her husband to raise their children alone. Pope’s account is likely to have come from poet Richard Savage, with whom Haywood was friends for several years beginning in 1719 before their falling out. This period coincided with the publication of Love in Excess (1719-1720), Haywood’s first and best-known novel. Alongside Delarivier Manley and Aphra Behn, Haywood was considered one of the leading romance writers of her time. Haywood’s novels, such as Idalia; or The Unfortunate Mistress (1723) and The Distress’d Orphan; or Love in a Madhouse (1726), often explore the domination and oppression of women by men. The History of Miss Betsy Thoughtless (1751), one of Haywood’s final novels, is a powerful story of a woman who leaves her abusive husband, experiences independence, and is pressured to marry once more. Highly regarded by feminist scholars today, Haywood was a prolific writer who revolutionized the English novel while raising a family, running a pamphlet shop in Covent Gardens, and pursuing a career as an actress and writer for some of London’s most prominent theaters.
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