Introduction: Innovations in the “Scandalous Memoir”

Abstract

This project contributes to the literary history of eighteenth-century women’s life writings, particularly those labeled “scandalous memoirs.” I argue that the evolution of this subgenre was shaped partially by several memoirs that have received only modest critical attention: Madame de La Touche’s Apologie (1736), Lady Vane’s Memoirs of a Lady of Quality (1751), Catherine Jemmat’s Memoirs (1762), and Margaret Coghlan’s Memoirs (1794). To illuminate their contributions, I review our current understanding of the origins and significance of the “scandalous memoir” as well as questions recently raised about women’s collaboration and the fluidity of forms. I add to this discussion with new information about these memoirists, whom I situate within historical and generic contexts. In so doing, I reveal their innovations in form and meaning.