The Gilded Cage of Woman

The Intimate Memoir of Margaret Bryan (1757–1836)

Even the most privileged woman’s glass ceiling in Georgian England was limited to a wealthy, titled husband and, if all things went well, perpetual pregnancy—boys first, please. But despite the pressures on her to marry, headstrong Margaret Bryan, always more drawn to numbers and stars than needles and threads, determines early in her life to courageously chart her own path to a world-class scientific education and an occupation of her own choosing.

When Margaret comes into an inheritance, she decides to make use of her hard-won scholarship and open her own school to teach girls math and science. There, she gains a newfound independence and the friendship of two of England’s most influential noblewomen, who teach her how to leverage her image to advance her publishing agenda. Ushered into the London Ton and the Royal Society, unwelcoming of educated and intelligent spinsters like her, Margaret uncompromisingly embarks on a journey to pursue her career and find personal happiness with the support of her unconventional family and the attentions of a progressive royal prince.

Drawing from her years of research on this extraordinary historical figure, Jayne Catherine Conway tells the forgotten story of her distant respected mathematician, astronomer, educator, and author who overcame tremendous societal oppression to redefine the limitations of her destined life.