Carolyn Da Silva

My research focuses on British women writers’ published epistolary works and their private correspondence. The thesis’ main aim is to analyse how these women used the epistolary form to formulate and circulate a political critique in response to the French Revolution and its socio-political effects in France and in England. Moreover, the research centres on elucidating the social, political and civic effects my writers were hoping their writings would have on English society. The comparison between published letters and epistolary works and the authors’ private correspondence (where available) allows my research to evaluate the pressure of social conventions in encouraging potential changes in public works, as well as to uncover the image my writers wanted or needed to project to their wider audience.