quite boring but i realize it's interesting to read something written in 1762. ( )

https://kaggsysbookishramblings.wordpress.com/2015/06/04/a-female-utopia/ ( )

Published in 1762, Millennium Hall describes a utopian society of women living much more autonomously than was the norm at that time. The women of Millennium Hall are all unmarried, and the circumstances of their arrival often were related to the death of a father or other source of financial support. The novel is loosely drawn from events in author Sarah Scott's life. Scott's father failed to provide her with financial support and, after separating from her husband (an extremely rare event in those days), she lived with a close female friend as part of a community of intellectuals seeking social reform.

The novel is made up of a series of narratives telling the stories of various women at Millennium Hall. It is written in a didactic style, intended to provide "moral instruction" to the reader -- and specifically, male readers. While some of the women's stories were interesting, the preachy tone and flowery language wore on me after a while.

I read this as part of a project in the Virago Modern Classics group, to read VMCs in original order of publication. The group read helped me appreciate this book for its place in the history of women's writing, but I can't say I enjoyed it. ( )

Kelly's introduction is most worthwhile, offering contexts and critical perspective on Scott's C18 fictional female utopia and its custodians. ( )