Writing strategies in The Mother's Blessing, a popular conduct manual written by a woman

What is it about?

In this article, I introduce an almost entirely ignored woman writer of the early seventeenth century. She wrote a conduct manual titled "The Mother's Blessing." It was a runaway best seller for decades. It is often dismissed as quaint book of motherly advice. Anyone who makes that claim has not read the book. The book engages political, social, and religious themes in ways that could have damaged the writer's reputation. However, in Dorothy Leigh's case, the book stayed in publication and was literally read to pieces by men, women, and youth. It was published in various editions alongside politically charged sermons written by Protestant preachers. She creates and maintains the trust of her readers by consistently presenting herself in ways that the audience would expect, as a mother, a wife, a widow, and a Christian. Using principles of rhetoric and comparisons with contemporary texts, I illustrate ways Leigh's text interacts with the political, social, and religious debates of her day, and beyond.

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Why is it important?

Very few books were published by women in the early seventeenth century. Even fewer conduct manuals were published by women. Conduct manuals were important and popular during the early seventeenth century. Women who attempted to write them were often condemned by society, and most "female" authored conduct books were written by men. No one questions the authenticity of Dorothy Leigh's authorship. Leigh's book was a runaway best seller by any publication standards of her day. Her book influenced other writers, including women writers. The reason her book continues to be overlooked by scholars baffles me.