Eliza Haywood (1693–1756)

Eliza Haywood, née Fowler, was an English writer, actor, and publisher. Since the 1980s, her literary works have been gaining in recognition and interest. Described as "prolific even by the standards of a prolific age" (Blouch, intro 7), Haywood wrote and published more than 70 works during her lifetime, including fiction, drama, translations, poetry, conduct literature, and articles for periodicals. Today she is studied primarily as a founder of the novel in English. She achieved success in her own day as the publisher of The Female Spectator, the first periodical to be written by a woman, and with her realistic novels The History of Miss Betsy Thoughtless (1751) and The History of Jemmy and Jenny Jessamy (1753). With Delarivier Manley and Aphra Behn, she was called one of The Fair triumvirate of Wit by poet Rev. James Sterling.