Eighteenth Century Literary

Why Hermsprong Still Matters: Publication Day for Volume I

Volume I of Robert Bage’s Hermsprong is published today by P-Wave Classics. A radical satire of class, gender and social hypocrisy, restored to its original three-volume form. Read More…

Women, Education and Equality in Hermsprong

What did education prepare women for in the 1790s: thought, work or marriage? In Hermsprong, Robert Bage exposes the assumptions that kept women praised in theory but constrained in practice. Read More…

Maria Fluart in Hermsprong: Wit, Power and a Radical Heroine

Maria Fluart is not merely a strong heroine, she is a problem for polite society. In Hermsprong, Robert Bage uses wit and humour to expose the limits placed on women in the 1790s. Read More…

The Coquette Is Published: A New P-Wave Classics Edition

The Coquette is published today in a new P-Wave Classics edition. Explore its themes, history and continuing relevance through our four-part essay series. Read More…

The Many Meanings of Eliza Wharton: Judgement and Reputation

How Eliza Wharton’s story in The Coquette has been judged and reinterpreted for over two centuries. A reflection on reputation, morality and the ongoing scrutiny of women’s lives. Read More…

Against London: Robert Bage, Cultural Snobbery and Hermsprong

Why does Hermsprong largely ignore London? Robert Bage’s novel challenges the cultural dominance of the capital and gives voice to a growing provincial readership in late eighteenth-century Britain. Read More…

The Female Quixote, Volume I: Imagination, Reality and the Power of Books

To celebrate its launch, a reflection on Charlotte Lennox’s The Female Quixote and the enduring power of books to shape imagination, expectation and desire. Exploring Arabella’s world, where fiction and reality collide with surprising and unsettling consequences. Read More…

Letters, Privacy and the Public Eye in The Coquette

How private letters shaped public reputation in The Coquette. A reflection on communication, judgement and the fragility of privacy then and now. Read More…

Why Hermsprong Walks: Class and Independence in Robert Bage’s Radical Novel

Why does Hermsprong insist on travelling everywhere on foot? In late eighteenth-century Britain, walking signalled social rank, and Bage turns that simple act into a quiet challenge to the hierarchy of polite society. Read More…

From Scandal to Story: How Elizabeth Whitman Became Eliza Wharton

The real-life tragedy behind The Coquette. How Elizabeth Whitman’s story became one of early America’s most enduring novels. Read More…

Why Robert Bage’s Hermsprong Matters Now

P-Wave Classics publishes Volume I of Robert Bage’s Hermsprong (1796), restoring the radical novel to its original three-volume form. A bold satire of privilege and power, newly introduced and annotated. Read More…

Reading The Coquette in 2026: reputation, restraint, and the limits of female freedom

Why does The Coquette still matter in 2026? A reflection on reputation, restraint and the limits of female freedom, then and now, as pre-orders open for a new P-Wave Classics edition. Read More…

“She is still being talked about”: Why The Coquette still matters

A fresh edition of Hannah Webster Foster’s landmark novel The Coquette, exploring freedom, judgement and reputation in early America. Featuring rare historical responses and new editorial insight. Read More…