Crisafulli and Elam, both in English literature at the University of Bologna present an overview of women involved in the theater in the Romantic period. Playwrights such as Joanna Baillie,
Mary Russell Mitford, Elizabeth Inchbald, Hannah Crowley, Hannah More and others are treated, along with actress/managers Sarah Siddons and Elizabeth Vestris. Joanna Baillie was clearly the
most respected playwright in her lifetime and figures in a number of the articles. The study is focused on gender issues in the content of the plays as well as the peculiar difficulties women
faced in having their work taken seriously. They received support from other women and many men but also were criticized by both sexes for being "unwomanly". The introduction makes the
important point that after 1820 female playwrights largely vanished as a conservative wave took hold of European society in the wake of the French Revolution and Napoleonic wars. Despite
proving their ability, women were taken out of positions of authority in theatrical society. Annotation 穢2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
