Why is it that some authors achieve fame as respected, seminal thinkers, while others, no less remarkable, remain relatively obscure within the annals of history? It is an open question. When considering the distinction between Mary Wollstonecraft's inclusion in the canon of Western political thought and Catharine Macaulay's lesser-known status, it seems an obvious question to ponder. Many political theorists confess to having never heard of Macaulay, a prolific author whose texts on such topics as republicanism, Enlightenment thought, “rational religion,” education, and equality between the sexes influenced Wollstonecraft considerably. Letters exchanged between the women that came into public view in the 1990s illustrate that the two were indeed in communication, and Wollstonecraft's writings, especially her celebrated Vindication of the Rights of Woman, bear the distinct imprimatur of Macaulay's ideas. Yet to date Macaulay remains relatively lesser known, at least when compared to the extensive reach and influence of Wollstonecraft.

Karen Green's excellent new study of the author, Catharine Macaulay's Republican Enlightenment, will help right this wrong. The detail and depth with which Green studies the life and work of Macaulay confer upon her the attention she deserves and clearly define her as an important eighteenth-century thinker. Green's analysis of Macaulay's life, writings, political thought, and unique status among those whose ideas she debated represents a carefully crafted, meticulously researched effort to situate the author in her historical context and explain her contributions to political thought. The care and scope of Green's analysis is impressive given the dearth of primary materials about Macaulay; the book therefore exemplifies a labor of love that will shine a light on a thinker who in many ways was ahead of her times. Indeed, Green's text brings into focus how unusual and courageous a person Macaulay was, for she both fit into the republic of letters but also stood out from the crowd thanks to the tenacity of her intellect and emotional mettle.

Two examples illustrate my point. First, given the reputed limitations of her governess, Macaulay was largely self-taught, and she especially loved history. As a girl, her intellectual curiosity was satisfied by taking advantage of her father's library, which was filled with volumes covering ancient Greek and Roman history, as well as Stoic and Epicurean philosophy. In Green's words, Macaulay's “love of Roman virtue combined very naturally with an appreciation of Stoicism” (16). These inspiring texts proved formative to her later writings about the relationship between politics, morality, education, and gender equality. Reading extensively about antiquity allowed her to gain an appreciation for the manner in which civilizations rise and fall, and the importance of safeguarding human liberties against the abuses of authoritarian powers. Hence, a love of ancient history greatly informed that version of republicanism so grounded in sympathy, altruism, and faith that Macaulay came to advocate in her copious scholarly writings as well as her drafting of a petition to protect English civil liberties.

Green especially focuses on Macaulay's contribution to republican thought, and argues that her place within the eighteenth-century republic of letters reflected a growing respect for female scholarly accomplishments. Green documents Macaulay's protracted composition of an eight-volume account of English history, A History of England from the Accession of James I to that of the Brunswick Line (1763–1783), which earned her the title of a “radical historian” (8). Throughout these volumes, Macaulay's insights into ancient civilizations are brought to bear on Great Britain's republican struggles, and they fuel her advocacy of a constrained constitutional monarchy that respects human rights, limits property ownership, and promotes egalitarian principles. Knowing her subject intimately, Green situates Macaulay's unique voice amid other eighteenth-century thinkers, highlighting how her position on social, political, religious, and gender-related topics variously overlaps and differs from those of such intellectual pillars as David Hume, John Wilkes, Edmund Burke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Bolingbroke, and Thomas Paine. Green reveals how skillfully Macaulay addressed pressing topics of her time and initially gained much respect as an author and thinker. Macaulay's opposition to the unchecked monarchical rule that so central to the English Civil War, her belief that sympathy proves indispensable to political stability, and her defense of religious sentiment all distinguish her as a careful and learned scholar whose contributions to political thought deserve attention.

A second example of Macaulay's uniqueness centers on her ability to ignore public opinion and stand her ground. As Green recounts, the favorable reputation that she earned early in her career later diminished, and she bore the brunt of harsh criticism and ridicule on several occasions. For one thing, Macaulay's second marriage to a man twenty-six years her junior generated a good deal of gossip and was deemed “a dishonor to the sex” (131). Yet Macaulay defended her decision and refused to apologize. Added to this was her public stance on political and gender-related topics that earned her the title “the republican virago,” a phrase that became the title of one of the few existing works on Macaulay (Bridget Hill, The Republican Virago: The Life and Times of Catharine Macaulay, Historian, 1992). Green explains in detail the manner in which public opinion went against Macaulay, yet she carefully balances this historical context with the lasting legacy of Macaulay's thought and writing. It is of course Macaulay's writings on gender, and the gendered implications of education and morality, that have had the most impact on the Western canon and later feminist writings. Macaulay's A Treatise on the Immutability of Moral Truth (1783) and Letters on Education (1790) both reveal her egalitarian views in terms of the sexes and her frankness on such topics as children's awakening sexual interests.

Green's deft handling of her subject offers a balanced approach to this complex and influential thinker. The reader comes away with a thorough understanding of an author who has been overshadowed yet whose pioneering ideas warrant recognition. Green argues persuasively in favor of Macaulay's contribution to the Western canon while also earning the reader's respect for her as a unique and brave individual.