Mendelson focuses on three upper class women authors in Stuart-era England. Margaret Cavendish, the Duchess of Newcastle, wrote poetry, "natural philosophy," and an unholy combination of the two that is unintentionally hilarious. A social climber without children, she poured her efforts into her books instead, and was generally reviled for it. Mary Rich, Countess of Warwick, was a sadder figure. After her husband's political career foundered, she became intensely religious. Only after her (much older) husband died and she was left to take care of her own interests did she begin to lose that fierce religious fervor. Aphra Behn's personal life (including her birth date, parents and husband) remains a mystery. Her poetry expanded in worth once she had to sell to pay her bills.
Mendelson argues that seventeenth century women sought social mobility, not freedom from the strictures of gender. They wanted to better their class, not to live like men. ( )

Mendelson has chosen three 17th-century women's lives and writings to examine the scope of women's roles and influence within the Stuart society: Margaret Cavendish, the Duchess of Newcastle; Mary Rich, the Countess of Warwick, and the playwright, novelist and poet, Aphra Behn. The women, very different in their personalities, shared a passion for writing, and it is through their writings that Mendelson examines how each coped with and modified the Stuart "ideal" of womanhood which "represented the feminine virtues as an organic whole: modesty, chastity, obedience and silence were interrelated." Margaret Cavendish wanted to build "A Pyramid of Fame" and carve a new niche in the world of letters for herself by writing about the new study of "natural" science. It was the struggle between religion and society's demands, colored by the loss of her children and the illness of her husband, that brought Mary Rich to write her spiritual autobiography. Refusing to remarry after her husband's death, Aphra Behn needed to support herself and found the means within the theatrical and literary worlds of Restoration London. Each of the women is fascinating in her own right and together they present a nuanced picture of the emerging role of women in English literature. ( )