"But Why No Women Write, I Pray?" Sarah Jinner’s Defence of Women’s Public Voice in Her Almanacs

Abstract

In seventeenth century England women writers had already been able to move beyond the two genres of writing that had initially been approved for them: translation and devotional literature. It is noteworthy, however, to acknowledge women as authors of almanacs, considering that these writings required a scientific background based upon a specific education in medicine and astrology usually inaccessible to women. Between 1658 and 1664, Sarah Jinner emerged as the first woman author of almanacs. Besides the anticipated prophecies and medical advice, this London astrologer also advocated women’s public voice in her works: “But why no women write, I pray?” Jinner used these popular and widely read Early Modern English texts to publicise her defence of women. This paper focuses on Jinner’s open challenge to the Aristotelian perspective on women and her defence of women’s public voice.