Astell: Political Writings

First modern edition of three works by an important female political theorist.

The writings of Mary Astell (1666–1731) are a remarkable contribution to the constitutional debates of the time. Astell's political pamphlets have never been reprinted in their entirety. This new edition makes accessible three major works by an important political theorist.The writings of the High Church Tory pamphleteer Mary Astell (1666–1731) are a remarkable and underestimated contribution to the constitutional debates which ushered in the modern liberal democratic state. An interlocutor with Swift and Defoe, Astell was perhaps the first systematic critic of Locke's writings, something which has been overlooked in the considerable literature evaluating the reception of Locke's Two Treatises on Government. Astell's political pamphlets Reflections upon Marriage, A Fair Way with Dissenters, and An Impartial Enquiry into the Origins of Rebellion ran to five editions in her lifetime, but have never been reprinted in their entirety. This new edition makes accessible the major works of a fine English stylist and important political theorist.