A Gendered Journey: Travel of Ideas in England c.1750-1800

The eighteenth century was characterised by a ferment of ideas and activities which have usually been portrayed as masculine. It is now increasingly perceived that such developments travelled further through society than hitherto generally recognised. Even women participated in "enlightened living", despite gendered limitations on education, travel and work. In various ways women took advantage of the emphasis on the social arts in which they could excel and the increasing number of ways of learning about arts, science and culture. Some even became leaders in "enlightened" ventures from which, ostensibly, women were mostly excluded. Drawing heavily on the letters and published works of a number of women, this article will explore how some women not only managed to participate in the travel of ideas in England from c.1750 to 1800, but also disseminated them or even contributed ideas of their own. (Contains 103 footnotes.)