"The First of a New Genus": Mary Wollstonecraft as a Literary Critic and Mentor to Mary Hays

Abstract

Mary Wollstonecraft's work for Joseph Johnson's Analytical Review stands as a landmark in the changing occupations available to women writers during the late eighteenth century. Study of this work facilitates a clearer understanding of both Wollstonecraft's intellectual development and the material and social circumstances that facilitated her access to the sorts of literary work that had been mostly the province of men. As she developed broader areas of reviewing competence, Wollstonecraft also took on wider responsibilities with the Analytical Review and possibly Johnson's bookselling business as well. When she found herself in a position to offer professional mentoring to Mary Hays, Wollstonecraft provided Hays with opportunities for literary work and advised her on the credible public presentation of herself as a woman author. While this assistance did not lead to permanent literary employment for Hays, it did offer a significant boost to her literary career.

The prejudices of Mary Hays

“…Johnson was a notorious publisher of radical journals, and an equally notorious patron of radical writers, young and old. Mary Wollstonecraft was a protégé, her husband William Godwin a close friend (Waters, 2004, pp. 451, 419–23).…”