The trials of female authorship in the Victorian Era were not limited to England. On this map, I have marked where several prolific female authors of the time published works between 1837 and 1901, illustrating that issues of gender in publication that took place in the United Kingdom were actually global contentions. Though laws at the time did not necessarily prevent women writers from being published, the narrow parameters of the feminine literary tradition--made up of sexist assumptions and attitudes, and upheld by prejudice--certainly limited what they could write about and who would publish their work. In order to avoid being dismissed as sentimental, frivolous, or domestic, in order to establish themselves without assuming stereotypical “feminine identities” (Cambridge), and in order to widen their writerly scope into areas such as politics, social problems, gender roles, economics, and other typically masculine topics, many female writers in many different countries published under pseudonyms. 

I chose to only detail the most popular or prominent work published by each of these authors under their respective pseudonyms, many of which deal with themes of social class, gender, relationships, love (from the female perspective), and critiques of the social norms of Victorian society. These authors have varied bodies of work ranging from shocking and unique writings,  writings noted for liberal or feminist elements, writings like Violet Paget’s on travel, music, and the supernatural, to writings like Louisa May Alcott’s, which were often deemed “unladylike.” 

Had these novels and narratives not been penned by these women, the contemporary literary imagination might not be so accepting of female writers who wish to address, negotiate, challenge, or confront the subject matter that actually matters. We have these writers to thank for the movement (albeit slow) of our society into a less gendered, less sexist, more equal intellectual age (though there is still room for improvement). They may have been working on different continents, but when mapped out, their efforts certainly become part of a much bigger picture. 

Sources:

https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/cambridge-companion-to-victorian-wo...

https://theculturetrip.com/north-america/usa/articles/12-female-writers-...