Call for Papers
Mary Hamilton and her Circles:
An Edited Collection
The team at the AHRC-funded research project Unlocking the Mary Hamilton Papers is delighted to invite proposals for an edited volume on Mary Hamilton and her circles. This will be the first full-length book in a century to address the life, writings, language, and networks of the bluestocking, socialite, antiquary and courtier Mary Hamilton (1756-1816), one of the most well-connected and highly cultured women in eighteenth-century British polite society. The volume aims to pay particular attention to Hamilton’s position within various social networks, examining this theme from several disciplinary perspectives.
We welcome proposals from any discipline, which may address (non-exhaustively) literary-historical topics (including but not limited to Hamilton’s childhood, adolescence and education; her time at the court of George III; her position within London-based Bluestocking circles; her travels abroad and in Britain; her marriage to John Dickenson and later life in the north-west of England; her experience of motherhood and pregnancy loss; and the curation of her archive), literary and/or linguistic features of her writing (among other things, Hamilton’s patterns of reading, writing and collection; her relationships with leading intellectuals and luminaries of her day; her life writing and ego-documents, including her private correspondence and diaries, or miscellanies; her language use in light of the increasingly prescribed norms; and language variation and change within her circles more generally), her posthumous reputation; or some combination of any of these varied topics.
We envisage an edited volume featuring contributions of approximately 6000-9000 words. Please send an abstract (c.500 words) and a short author biography (max.500 words) to themaryhamiltonpapers@gmail.com by 2 December 2022.