Mary Martha Sherwood - Literary Analysis

Literary Analysis

Sherwood scholar M. Nancy Cutt has argued that Sherwood's career can be usefully divided into three periods: (1) her romantic period (1795–1805), during which she wrote a few sentimental novels; (2) her evangelical period (1810–c. 1830), during which she produced her most popular and influential works; and (3) her post-evangelical period (c. 1830–1851). Several underlying themes pervade most of Sherwood's works throughout these periods: "her conviction of inherent human corruption"; her belief that literature "had a catechetical utility" for every rank of society; her belief that "the dynamics of family life" should reflect central Christian principles; and her "virulent" anti-Catholicism.