Jane Austen's Bookshelf: The women writers who shaped a legend

Burney’s comedic set pieces, Radcliffe’s cavernous hallways, Lennox’s bold witticisms, More’s commonalities with Wollstonecraft, Inchbald’s honed elegance, Piozzi’s unrepentant heart, and Edgeworth’s irresistible characters.

Austen paints with a smaller palette than Burney. She is not as moving as Radcliffe. She is less daring than Lennox. She has less conviction than Hannah More. She is less philosophical than Smith. She is not as witty as Inchbald. She doesn’t have as much heart as Piozzi. She lacks the depth of wisdom of Edgeworth. But does that change my love for Austen? Of course not.

Joanna Russ’s How to Suppress Women’s Writing (1983), an ironic “guide” to the mechanics of ignoring, discrediting, and erasing the contributions of women to our literary heritage.