"I ... had much rather talk of the next world than of this," wrote Elizabeth Rowe to Lady Hertford in 1729. "You are not more tired of visiting-days and assemblies than I am of breathing and sleeping. I could wish myself got safe beyond the thick darkness; but there nature starts; a thousand fantastic horrors guard the gloomy passage, and yet 'tis inevitable, and must be passed." Rowe's fascination with death--with the soul's transition from this world to the realms of heavenly bliss--marks her writings with an air of spiritual authenticity rare in the fictional works of the early part of the eighteenth century. Struck by the decadence of the age and disappointed in her attempt to find happiness in an earthly marriage, Rowe tried to stem the tide of corruption by a heartfelt dedication to a life of virtue in retirement, and her example gained her a devoted following...