Susanna Haswell Rowson, who was active during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, has some claim to be regarded as both an English and an American writer, though her American allegiance came to predominate with time. Many of her works are now very rare, especially the English editions. She was professional in her outlook and conscious of writing as a woman, given to self-referential prefaces and taking every opportunity to discuss and praise her fellow, British, women writers. As well as eight novels, her output included fictional sketches, seven theatrical works, poems, social commentary, textbooks, and conduct literature. Biographer Dorothy Weil comments that she writes both for and about women, addressing "themes important to the situation, education, and rights of women."