From folklore to footnote : framing the past in Anglo-Scottish and Anglo-Irish women’s writing (1780-1830)

This dissertation sheds light on the role of women in shaping the histories of Scotland and Ireland during the Romantic period (c. 1780–1830). Taking a comparative approach to women’s writing in English, it examines how female authors actively collected, compiled, translated, and published folklore, oral traditions, and historical records. In doing so, it explores the intersection of national, cultural, and gendered dimensions in lesser-known publications by Scottish and Irish women. Furthermore, it considers how the distinct historical trajectories of these nations, as well as the political and socio-economic unification of the British Isles, influenced their depictions of the past. Given the challenges posed by a fragmented and incomplete archival record, this dissertation adopts an innovative reading method that foregrounds paratextual elements to gain insight into women’s authorial and intellectual ambitions as they are represented in their works. By situating their publications within eighteenth-century debates on historical progress and the recovery of early Scottish and Irish histories, this research challenges assumptions about feminine modes of history writing and the exclusion of women from political and historical debates. Through a series of close readings, it highlights the diversity of women’s engagement with the past and demonstrates the multiple and complex ways in which they made history meaningful and intelligible in their own time. Ultimately, by shifting the focus to how these authors framed, curated, and stylised the past, this study reveals their significant contributions to antiquarian research and their role in preserving and shaping national history in the Romantic period.