Women from the Parsonage: Pastors' Daughters as Writers, Translators, Salonnières, and Educators by Edited by Cindy K. Renker and Susanne Bach - 2019

De Gruyter, 2019. Hardbound. New Book. Hardbound. Many prominent, well-known writers and thinkers, like Wieland, Emerson, and Nietzsche were the sons of Protestant clergymen, which created something of a cultural phenomenon over the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. On the other hand, in the case of most pastors’ daughters, the connection between their privileged education and their intellectual pursuits has remained largely unexplored. Renker and Bach look at a group of well-known, as well as lesser-known women from the seventeenth to the middle of the nineteenth century, who became important writers, accomplished translators, celebrated salonni<’e>res, and distinguished educators; they founded schools and hospitals and headed charitable organizations and events. An example is Suzanne Curchod (1734-1794) who grew up in a humble parsonage in French-speaking Switzerland. When her father died, thanks to her extensive and impressive education, she was able to lift herself and her mother into the highest levels of French society, becoming Madame Necker and the mother of the legendary Germaine de Staël. The essays are in chronological order to reflect the shift from mostly religious writing to more secular, the increase in productivity and prolificity, and the rise of women in the public sphere across Europe. (2019 Ringgold, Inc., Portland, OR)