Peterson's study is not simply a fascinating contribution to the nineteenth-century history of authorship, it is also an interesting example of the uses of the biographical and autobiographical writings of literary figures by their creators or by other writers for the purposes of self-mythologization or the creation of gendered myths of authorship... This is very much a contribution to the ... Read morebigger picture on the nineteenth-century history of authorship, and a model for further scholarship in this area.
Lyn Pykett, Biography [T]he wealth of information contained in Becoming a Woman of Letters will be of invaluable help not only to those who want to study these individual women, but those who are interested in nineteenth century women writers as a group, and in the Victorian publishing world. Peterson's work allows us to see the importance of contextualizing whenever we consider an individual's work, for even literary geniuses who are born and bred in the wilds of the Yorkshire moors must work within the context of the market.
Christine DeVine, Journal of Pre-Raphaelite Studies Peterson's project is a stunning success. The book embodies all that we expect of criticism these days. Peterson's readings are insightful, her range of reference astounding, but it is the methods of her scholarship that seem most pertinent in making this a book we should offer as a benchmark to our students.
Laurie Langbauer, Tulsa Studies in Women's Literature Peterson's prose is often incisive, compact, and elegant. Her generous yet deftly chosen illustrations amplify her arguments and deepen the literary and historical richness of this insightful study of Victorian women and authorship.
Cheri L. Larsen Hoeckley, Christianity and Literature With this wide-ranging and ambitious study, Linda H. Peterson makes a significant contribution to our understanding of the professionalisation of writing throughout the nineteenth century.
Routledge Annotated Bibliography of English Her book avowedly contributes to the goal of a complete literary history of women's writing in the nineteenth century. Becoming a Woman of Letters is a major contribution to that history.
Alison Booth, Modern Philology Show Less