History of Gothic Romance & Rise of Women’s Education

The Gothic novel didn’t emerge from nowhere.

As women’s literacy rates rose in the late 18th and 19th centuries, so did a powerful new reading public and with it, a transformation in literary culture. In this episode, we examine how expanded access to education created the conditions for the Gothic romance to flourish.

At the center of our discussion is Wuthering Heights: a novel that shattered conventions, redefined love, and helped shape the lineage of what we now call dark romance.

We explore:

• The social history behind the rise of women readers

• The emergence of women authors in the literary marketplace

• Why Gothic romance became a cultural phenomenon

• How Wuthering Heights became a genre-defining text

This is women’s history with a storm brewing beneath it.

📚 Recourses📚

Academic

• Feminism and the Gothic: A Brief History

• Anonymous Signatures: Circulating Libraries, Conventionality, and the Production of Gothic Romances on JSTOR

• to Book and Pen: Women, Education, and Literacy in Tudor England. Jackie Eales

• Levels of Illiteracy in England, 1530-1730 by David Cressy

• The Role of Women in Gothic Literature: Empowerment or Entrapment. Dr. Neeraj Kumar Parashari

• HE BRONTE SISTERS AND THEIR VERSION OF GOTHIC FICTION AND FEMINISM Teenu Tony 2020.

Books

• History of the Gothic: Gothic Literature 1764-1824

• Female Education in the Age of Enlightenment James Fordyce Introduction by Janet Todd

• Womens Reading in Britain 1750-1835: A Dangerous Recreation by Jaqueline Pearson

Articles

• The Men-Women Split in Reading is Real—and Persists Amid Historical Rate Declines | National Endowment for the Arts

• The History of Circulating Libraries - Random Bits of Fascination

• Women are now publishing more books than men - study | World Economic Forum

• Readership Statistics: Market Data Report 2026

• Learning to Read and Write: Women’s Education in the Middle Ages - Medievalists.net

• BBC - History - Alfred the Great