This edition provides representative texts from Eliza Haywood's career, which overlaps that of Daniel Defoe, Samuel Richardson, and Henry Fielding. The six fictions and two plays provided here illustrate the many kinds of writing she produced, and the ways she treated important themes and issues.

This exciting edition gathers together for the first time a sampling of Haywood's writings generous enough to represent the full range of her fiction and drama and includes material from each decade of her Long writing life. The collection features six fictions, including both racy early work and later experimental prose fiction, two plays, and some powerful political writing.

Backscheider's volume will make it possible to include Haywood as a significant presence in both survey courses and graduate seminars