The History of Miss Betsy Thoughtless

The History of Miss Betsy Thoughtless (1751) is a novel by Eliza Haywood. Blending tragedy and comedy, Haywood explores the intersection of ambition, family, and desire to reveal how women so often fall victim to the whims of men. The History of Miss Betsy Thoughtless has been recognized as one of the first novels in English literature to depict the development of an independent heroine, as well as to move away from the more popular genre of amatory fiction toward the marriage plot. Widely read in the eighteenth century, Haywood influenced such authors as Fanny Burney and Jane Austen. Having completed her education at an all-girls boarding school, Betsy Thoughtless moves to the city of London. For the first time, she finds herself thrust into the orbit of young and marriageable men, whose attention and affections she craves, though remains cautious to reciprocate. Betsy knows the dangers inherent to sexual impropriety-pregnancy out of wedlock would all but guarantee he