TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE Italic text is denoted by _underscores_. A superscript is denoted by ^; for example, w^{ch} or y^e. Obvious typographical errors and punctuation errors have been corrected after careful comparison with other occurrences within the text and consultation of external sources. Repeated headings were removed to avoid redundancy for the reader. More detail can be found at the end of the book. Vassar Semi-Centennial Series ELIZABETHAN TRANSLATIONS FROM THE ITALIAN. By MARY AUGUSTA SCOTT, Ph.D. (A.B. Vassar, 1876), Professor of English Literature in Smith College. SOCIAL STUDIES IN ENGLISH LITERATURE. By LAURA J. WYLIE, Ph.D. (A.B. Vassar, 1877), Professor of English in Vassar College. THE LEARNED LADY IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. By MYRA REYNOLDS, Ph.D. (A.B. Vassar, 1880), Professor of English Literature in Chicago University. [_In preparation._] THE CUSTOM OF DRAMATIC ENTERTAINMENT IN SHAKESPEARE'S PLAYS. By ORIE J. HATCHER, Ph.D. (A.B. Vassar, 1888), Formerly Associate Professor of Comparative Literature in Bryn Mawr College. [_In preparation._] INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF VARIABLE STARS. By CAROLINE E. FURNESS, Ph.D. (A.B. Vassar, 1891), Professor of Astronomy in Vassar College. MOVEMENT AND MENTAL IMAGERY. By MARGARET FLOY WASHBURN, Ph.D. (A.B. Vassar, 1891), Professor of Psychology in Vassar College. BRISSOT DE WARVILLE: A STUDY IN THE HISTORY OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. By ELOISE ELLERY, Ph.D. (A.B. Vassar, 1897), Associate Professor of History in Vassar College. HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY BOSTON AND NEW YORK THE LEARNED LADY IN ENGLAND 1650-1760 [Illustration: LADY JANE GREY From an engraving in Edmund Lodge's _Portraits of Illustrious Personages of Great Britain_ London, 1823, Vol. II] Vassar Semi-Centennial Series THE LEARNED LADY IN ENGLAND 1650-1760 BY MYRA REYNOLDS _Professor of English Literature in the University of Chicago_ WITH PORTRAITS [Illustration: (Publisher's colophon)] BOSTON AND NEW YORK HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY The Riverside Press Cambridge 1920 COPYRIGHT, 1920, BY MYRA REYNOLDS ALL RIGHTS RESERVED PUBLISHED IN HONOR OF THE FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FOUNDING OF VASSAR COLLEGE 1865-1915 TO E. E. L. CONTENTS I. LEARNED LADIES IN ENGLAND BEFORE 1650 1 1. Prefatory Statement 1 2. Period of Henry VIII and Elizabeth 4 3. Period from 1603 to 1650 23 4. Schools for Girls before 1660 37