"A Virago-Errant in Enchanted Armor?": Anne Royall's 1829 Trial as a Common Scold

Clapp profiles the life and career of controversial journalist and writer Anne Royalle, who was indicted as a common scold in 1829. Royalle's trial, as well as her career generally, shed considerable light on the problems and opportunities facing women, at a time when they entered the public sphere to take active positions on both political and religious matters. She opines that Royall was neither an eccentric nor even a virago, but an active participant in the party politics of the time-in short, a woman politico.