The New Atalantis

Writer and wit, proto-feminist and political intriguer, Delarivier Manley shared equal notoriety as a satirist with her friend Jonathan Swift, and The New Atalantis is her major work.The book tells of Astrea, Goddess of Justice borne by the winds to Atalantis, where she meets her long-lost mother Virtue and is guided round the island by Lady Intelligence. Laced with autobiography, and political and erotic scandal, it was designed to expose the "secret lives" of the rich and powerful in Stuart England and, not surprisingly, was suppressed on publication in 1709.Delarivier Manley's concerns -- with corruption in high places, the power of the propagandist, and the role of the woman writer -- remain alive an compelling today.