Link to the Edition on The Warrior Women Project at Wayne State
The story of the so-called “Aliena” appearing in the third of Eliza Haywood’s four-volume The Female Spectator—largely considered the first periodical by a woman, for women— is the story of a woman who dresses in military garb to pass as a sailor to remain in close proximity to the lover who jilted her.
In this letter to the editor complete with editorial commentary, Haywood blends narrative techniques of fiction with the seductive allure of the “true story” using the warrior woman trope.
Printed as a four-volume set of (not articles but) “books,” The Female Spectator occupied a “higher” literary status than the cheaply printed broadside ballads in the long 18th century.
This letter from The Female Spectator provides a mid-to-upper-class stance on the woman warrior trope—which the commentator portrays as a “mad exploit” that is both “unfortunate” and ill-advised.
