The writers of these novels were involved in various types of activism, using approaches ranging from conservative amelioration to radical militancy. Their works employ a broad variety of genres from the novel of manners, sensation, education and vocation, to allegory, romance and lesbian fiction. Volume 1 includes a general introduction ' The Wife' and 'Janet Doncaster'.

Oliver Lovesey

Volume 1: General Introduction, Select Bibliography, Introduction to Caroline Norton, The Wife, Note on the Text, Caroline Norton, The Wife (1835), Appendices: Caroline Norton Appendix 1: A Voice from the Factories (1836) Appendix 2: A Plain Letter to the Lord Chancellor on the Infant Custody Bill (1839) Appendix 3: A Letter to the Queen on Lord Chancellor Cranworth's Marriage and Divorce Bill (1855) Introduction to Millicent Garrett Fawcett, Janet Doncaster Note on the Text, Millicent Garrett Fawcett, Janet Doncaster (1875) Appendices: Millicent Garrett Fawcett Appendix 4: 'The Medical and General Education of Women (1868) Appendix 5: 'Th e Electoral Disabilities of Women' (1870) Appendix 6: 'Th e Future of Englishwomen: A Reply' (1878), Editorial Notes, Textual Variants