Elizabeth Griffith

Christina Morin (University of Limerick)
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A prolific essayist, letter-writer, translator, novelist, and playwright, Elizabeth Griffith (1727-93) was an astute and determined – if not always financially successful – professional author, whose popular appeal in her own day belies the less prominent place she holds in current literary criticism. Her career ably attests to the social restrictions under which female authors worked in the mid- to late-eighteenth century. As critics censured her for the liberal, proto-feminist views expressed in her early play, The Platonic Wife (1765), and accused her of indelicacy in her choice of expression, subject matter, and genre, Griffith adapted her art more readily to conform to accepted mores. At the same time, she …

1942 words

Citation: Morin, Christina. "Elizabeth Griffith". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 11 September 2017 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=1885, accessed 07 October 2024.]

1885 Elizabeth Griffith 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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