Mothering Daughters

Susan C. Greenfield argues that the rise of the novel and the rise of the ideal nuclear family were connected, not a coincidence. The book looks at how the image of the caring, loving mother came to be built, and at the part novels played in building it.

Greenfield follows the feminisation of the novels of the period, which responded to the image of motherhood and helped to shape it. The book’s subtitle indicates its scope: the politics of family romance in novels from Frances Burney to Jane Austen.

Published by Wayne State University Press. ISBN-13: 9780814332016.