bluestocking

bluestocking

bluestocking derisive term originally applied to certain 18th-century women with pronounced literary interests. During the 1750s, Elizabeth Vesey held evening parties, at which the entertainment consisted of conversation on literary subjects. Eminent men of the day were invited to contribute to these conversations. Hannah More , Elizabeth Montagu , and Elizabeth Carter , among others, continued this tradition. Boswell, in his Life of Dr. Johnson, states that these "bluestocking clubs" were so named because of Benjamin Stillingfleet, who attended in unconventional blue worsted stockings rather than the customary black silk stockings. In time the name bluestocking was applied solely to women of pedantic literary tastes.

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"bluestocking." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"bluestocking." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-bluestoc.html

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bluestocking

blue·stock·ing / ˈbloōˌstäking/ • n. often derog. an intellectual or literary woman.

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"bluestocking." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"bluestocking." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-bluestocking.html

"bluestocking." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-bluestocking.html

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bluestocking

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"bluestocking." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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Free newspaper and magazine articles

Elizabeth Eger and Lucy Peltz, Brilliant Women, 18th Century...
Magazine article from: Labour/Le Travail; 9/22/2009
Brilliant Women: 18th-Century Bluestockings.(Book review)
Magazine article from: The Australian Journal of Politics and History; 3/1/2009
Bluestocking in Patagonia.(Book Review)
Magazine article from: Australian Literary Studies; 10/1/2005
bluestocking images
bluestocking. Wikimedia Commons (Public Domain)