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Amateur fiction, a genre popular in 17th-18th century Britain, focused on romantic emotions and gender relationships, often depicting women as victims of male mistreatment. It was primarily written by women for a female audience and created social commentary on gender relations. Marriage was complicated to depict since it was economically beneficial for women. The Fair Triumvirate of Wit, including Eliza Haywood, Delarivier Manley, and Aphra Behn, were prominent writers in this genre.
Amateur fiction is a literary genre originating in Great Britain, popular in the late 17th century and well into the 18th century. Amateur fiction is considered by many to predate the novel and perhaps precipitated the romance novel. Like romance novels, which would later become a very popular literary genre, this type of fiction focused on romantic emotions and sexual love.
In their work, the writers have explored gender relationships, emotional yearnings, and the tribulations of romantic situations. Through their subject matter, the writers created commentary on issues such as cheating, lust, loyalty, innocence, and marriage.
In the sense that most works of amateur fiction follow the same essential plot and exhibit the same attitudes towards romantic relationships, this fiction can be considered a formulaic genre. Most of these works begin as stories of love and romance and end as tales of the anguish and pain of romantic relationships.
The emergence of gender itself can be considered a kind of commentary on gender relations in 17th- and 18th-century Britain. Amateur fiction was written primarily by women for a female audience. Women were probably the only people who read this type of fiction, and certainly the only ones who appreciated the themes presented in it. This is because most of these works presented the female character as a victim of male chauvinism and mistreatment.
The typical work presents gender relations through a fictitious or partially fictitious romantic plot. Throughout the storyline, the woman is depicted as full of trust and love and ready to offer that love to a man. The man, in most cases, is depicted as seeing the woman as nothing more than an object upon which to exercise her lust, after which he is likely to cast her aside. Through the presentation of these themes, amateur fiction creates a social commentary on gender relations, demonizing the male and presenting the female as a martyr.
A relationship is a love story where the intentions are almost exclusively about lust and love. On the other hand, marriage in 17th- and 18th-century Britain was a situation where property came into play. Women could not own property during this period. Using marriage as the setting for the story may have complicated the depiction of women as innocent victims, since marriage was economically beneficial for many women at the time. In amateur fiction, men who deceived women in love affairs could not be forgiven for logical or financial reasons.
Three female writers have stood out for their works of amateur fiction. These were Eliza Haywood, Delarivier Manley and Aphra Behn. These three writers were known in their day as the Fair Triumvirate of Wit. Critics, including those who condemned the genre on the grounds of religion and social decency, often referred to these women as The Naughty Triumvirate.
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