''Memoirs of Emma Courtney'' is an

epistolary novel An epistolary novel is a novel written as a series of letters. The term is often extended to cover novels that intersperse documents of other kinds with the letters, most commonly diary entries and newspaper clippings, and sometimes considered ...

Mary Hays Mary Hays (1759–1843) was an autodidact intellectual who published essays, poetry, novels and several works on famous (and infamous) women. She is remembered for her early feminism, and her close relations to dissenting and radical thinkers ...

, first published in 1796. The novel is partly autobiographical and based on the author's own unrequited love for William Frendbr>
Mary Hay's relationship with

William Godwin William Godwin (3 March 1756 – 7 April 1836) was an English journalist, political philosopher and novelist. He is considered one of the first exponents of utilitarianism and the first modern proponent of anarchism. Godwin is most famous for ...

is reflected through her eponymous heroine's philosophical correspondence with Mr Francis. Contemporary moralists were scandalised at the novel's treatment of female passion, but Hays has more recently been called a "

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

pioneer

Contemporary critics wrote of the apparently contrived ending that it was fantastical and unbelievable.

Plot summary

The novel consists of a series of philosophical letters from the heroine, Emma Courtney, to Augustus Harley, a young man she calls her son, who has recently been disappointed in love. Emma tells her life story. In her youth, Emma falls deeply in love with Augustus's father, also named Augustus Harley, but her pursuit of him fails - his income is only secure as long as he remains unmarried. Although she initially refuses to accept a life of security by marrying her admirer Mr. Montague, Emma eventually accepts when Augustus Harley is revealed to be already married, and Emma herself is facing financial hardship. Emma's marriage results in a series of tragedies, despite the appearance of a beloved daughter, and her passion for her first love never ceases. Near the end of the novel the two will meet again under unfortunate circumstances. Harley dies after an accident, and Montague commits suicide after a sexual encounter with a maid, whom he leaves pregnant. Emma adopts Harley's eldest son, and devotes herself to the lives of her children.

Impact

Reviews of the novel were mixed. ''The Memoirs of Emma Courtney'' was taken to be the true story of Hays' own life, and led various critics to mock and caricature he

The novel addresses issues of female sexual passion,

adultery Adultery (from Latin ''adulterium'') is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. Although the sexual activities that constitute adultery vary, as well as the social, religious, and legal ...

infanticide Infanticide (or infant homicide) is the intentional killing of infants or offspring. Infanticide was a widespread practice throughout human history that was mainly used to dispose of unwanted children, its main purpose is the prevention of reso ...

and

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

, as well as philosophical musings on the status of women in society. Emma reflects on "the inequalities of society, the source of every misery and vice, and on the peculiar disadvantages of my sex". Conservative readers would have been particularly shocked when Emma at one point offers herself to Augustus without demanding marriage. 1796 novels English philosophical novels Jacobin novels Fiction about suicide Adultery in novels {{18thC-novel-stub