Annotated Bibliography
Primary Materials
Astell, Mary (1701). A Serious Proposal to the Ladies for the Advancement of their True and Greatest Interest. By a Lover of Her Sex.
Astell, Mary (1700). Some Reflections Upon Marriage. London.
Astell, Mary (1704). A Fair Way with Dissenters and their Patrons.
Astell, Mary (1704). An Impartial Enquiry into the Causes of the Rebellion and Civil War in this Kingdom: In an examination of Dr. Kennett’s sermon, 31 Jan 1703/4. And Vindication of the Royal Martyr.
Astell, Mary (1704). The Character of the Wisest Men.
Astell, Mary (1704). Moderation Truly Stated.
Astell, Mary (1705). Letters Concerning the Love of God.
Astell, Mary (1705). The Christian religion, as profess’d by a daughter of the Church of England.
Astell, Mary (1709). Bart’lemy Fair.
Astell, Mary (1722). An Enquiry after wit: wherein the trifling arguing and impious raillery of the late Earl of Shaftesbury in his letter concerning enthusiasm, and other profane writers, are fully answer’d and justly exposed.
Secondary Materials
Broad, Jacqueline. “Mary Astell (1666-1731).” Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, https://iep.utm.edu/mary-astell/.
This is the internet encyclopedia page on Mary Astell. It includes a lot of really useful information that can be used for her biography page. It also contains a detailed breakdown of her political and philosiphical beliefs.
Perry, Ruth. “Mary Astell and the Feminist Critique of Possesive Individualism.” Eighteenth-Century Studies, vol. 23, no. 4, 1990, p. 444., https://doi.org/10.2307/2739179.
This journal by Ruth Perry is insightful about early feminism – which shaped a lot of Astell’s works. It discusses how her philosophy fits into feminism at this time. It also dives into the politics of the time – specifically surrounding the monarchy – and how that played into Mary’s perspective.
Springborg, Patricia. Astell, Political Writings. Cambridge University Press, 1996.
Springborg’s Astell: Political Writings is a book that discusses the political climate surrounding the works of Mary Astell. It also delves into her childhood, by discussing the death of her father (which left their family debt-ridden) and her lack of formal education. This source will be incredibly useful when describing Mary’s political beliefs, which played a huge role in her philosophical writings.
Sowaal, Alice, “Mary Astell”, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Spring 2021 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = <https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2021/entries/astell/>.
The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy is a very useful tool for learning about any philosopher. This is going to be one of the most useful sources for the entire project. There is background information, the context for her works, and other facts that will be quite helpful.
Sutherland, Christine M. “The Eloquence of Mary Astell.” OAPEN Home, University of Calgary Press, 18 July 2022, https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/57442.
The Eloquence of Mary Astell is a work that dives into the backstory and background of the life of Mary Astell – as well as some of the reasons behind her political and religious ideas. It talks about her childhood, as well as early teen years to detail her backstory. It also discusses her philosophical works and ideas.