The philosopher Mary Astell (1666 – 1731) has been described as “the first English feminist”. Born in Newcastle in relatively poor circumstances in the aftermath of the upheaval of the English Civil War and the restoration of the monarchy, she moved to London as a young woman and became part of an extraordinary circle of intellectual and aristocratic women. In her pioneering publications, she argued that women’s education should be expanded, that men and women’s minds were the same and that no woman should be forced to marry against her will. Perhaps her most famous quotation is: “If all Men are born Free, why are all Women born Slaves?” Today, she is one of just a handful of female philosophers to be featured in the multi-volume Cambridge History of Political Thought. 

The image above is from Astell's "Reflections upon Marriage", 3rd edition, 1706, held by the British Library (Shelfmark 8415.bb.27)

With:

Hannah Dawson 
Senior Lecturer in the History of Ideas at King’s College London

Mark Goldie
Professor Emeritus of Intellectual History at the University of Cambridge

Teresa Bejan
Associate Professor of Political Theory at Oriel College, University of Oxford

Producer: Simon Tillotson

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Mary Astell

BBC Radio 4