The place of women in island writing
Early-modern maps, drawings and descriptions of (European) islands were predominantly men’s creations, but in specific cultural roles, women could at least occassionally play a part. Most often, women appeared as artists or patronesses of the arts. As many island-themed works of the early-modern period were, in fact, stage plays or operas, women were mentioned as perfomers. One particularly popular opera of the early 18th century (translated into several languages) was “Arsinoe, Queen of Cyprus”. In some of the English editions of arias from this opera, Letitia Cross and Mrs. Toft are mentioned as female singers:
Clayton, Thomas. 1705a. Sleep Ormondo: a song in ye opera of Arsinoe Queen of Cyprus: sung by Mrs Toft. [London].———. 1705b. To warr, my thoughts, to warr: a song in the opera of Arsinoe. Sung by Mrs Toft. [London].———. 1705c. Wanton Zephyrs softly blowing: a celebrated verse in the opera of Arsinoe Queen of Ciprus: sung by Mrs Toft. [London].Clayton, Thomas, und Letitia Cross. 1710. Set by Mr Clayton, Sung by Mrs Cross in Ye Opera of Arsinoe. [London].
Clayton, Thomas. 1710. Sleep Ormondo: a song in ye opera of Arsinoe Queen of Cyprus. Sung by Mrs Toft. London.
Neuhoff, Theodor von, 1739. A General Account and Description of the Island of Corsica: Including a Genuine Relation of the Late Revolutions There, Occasioned by the Oppressions of the Genoese. With Authentic Memoirs of Baron de Neuhoff, Stiled Theodore I, King of Corsica … To Which Is Prefix’d, a Correct Map of the Whole Island. The second edition. London: Printed for C. Corbett.

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Translated from the German version: Briefe welche eine von Herrn Dr. Uno von Troil im Jahr 1772 nach Island angestellte Reise betreffen (from the Swedish, of J. G. P. Möller) by Mrs. Susanna Dorothy (Forster) Dixon.
Oct. 9. At Walthamstow, aged 65, Susanna Dorothy Dixon, widow of the late Rev. Francis Dixon, B.D. Rector of Bindcombe and Broadway, in Dorsetshire, and formerly Fellow of Benet College, Cambridge, who died 26 July, 1801. She was daughter to Edward Forster, esq. whose death, on the 20th April, 1812, is recorded in vol. LXII. pt. i. p. 398 and 487. DUring the life-time of her husband, she resided in the Vicarage House at Henham, Essex, of which parish he was Curate. To the poor of that village her attention has been ever since continued, and is now perpetuated by a bequest of 100 l. in trust, the interest to be annually distributed about Christmas in bread, &c.
In recent decades, scholars have tried to uncover the role of women in (scientific) translating of the Enlightenment more generally:
- Agorni, Mirella “A Marginal(ized) Perspective on Translation History: Women and Translation in the Eighteenth Century”. Meta 50, no. 3 (2005) : 817–830. https://doi.org/10.7202/011598ar
- Agorni, Mirella, 2002. Translating Italy for the Eighteenth Century: British Women, Translation and Travel Writing. Routledge, Manchester, UK ; Northampton, MA.
- Kawashima K. Women’s translations of scientific texts in the 18th century: a case study of Marie-Anne Lavoisier. Hist Sci (Tokyo), no. 21.2 (2011): 123-37. PMID: 22606747: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22606747/
- Lebert, Marie, 21 December 2020. Some famour women translators of the past. Blog post, https://marielebert.wordpress.com/2017/09/18/translators-women/
- Pieretti, Marie-Pascale. “Women Writers and Translation in Eighteenth-Century France.” The French Review 75, no. 3 (2002): 474-88. Accessed March 15, 2021. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3132846.
- van Deinsen, L. and Vanacker, B., 2019. Found through Translation: Female Translators and the Construction of ‘Relational Authority’ in the Eighteenth-Century Dutch Republic. Early Modern Low Countries, 3(1), pp.60–80. DOI: http://doi.org/10.18352/emlc.90

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OpenEdition suggests that you cite this post as follows:
Monika Barget (March 16, 2021). The place of women in island writing. INSULAE. Retrieved November 7, 2025 from https://doi.org/10.58079/qd8v
