The narrative presents a unique interaction between a conventional Swiss woman and a British radical, exploring cultural contrasts and ideological differences. Holcroft's 1786 translation not only conveys the original story but also features reworked elements to resonate with his audience, mirroring Montolieu's own approach in her translations. This adaptation highlights themes of identity and societal norms within a historical context.
Redefines Mary Wollstonecraft as a multi-lingual cosmopolitan Considering her transformation of material from the works of European writers and orators such as Rousseau, Mirabeau, 'Stéphanie-Félicité de Genlis, Christian Gotthilf Salzmann and Margareta de Cambon, as well as British sentimental philosophers and the radical theologian Richard Price, this book argues that Wollstonecraft espouses a cosmopolitan ethic that subordinates local and national allegiances to philanthropy, or love of humankind. At a time of international conflict, burgeoning capitalism and colonial enterprise, she represents philanthropy and cultural authenticity as the means to resist tyranny and imperialism in all their forms and light the way to global justice. Laura Kirkley is Senior Lecturer in Eighteenth-Century Literature in the School of English Literature, Language and Linguistics at Newcastle University.