Which English feminist part of the intellectual circle with Judith Drake in the 17th century was known as "the first English feminist"?
Judith Drake Judith Drake (fl. 1670s–1723) was an English intellectual and author who was active in the last decade of the 17th century. She was part of a circle of intellectuals, authors, and philosophers which included Mary Astell, Lady Mary Chudleigh, Elizabeth Thomas, Elizabeth Elstob, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, and John Norris. She was married to James Drake F.R.S., physician and Tory pamphleteer. She is remembered in the field of feminist literature for her 1696 essay, "An Essay in Defence of the Female Sex".
Arcangela Tarabotti Arcangela Tarabotti (24 February 1604 – 28 February 1652) was a Venetian nun and Early Modern Italian writer. Tarabotti wrote texts and corresponded with cultural and political figures for most of her adult life, centering the issues of forced enclosure, and what she saw as other symptoms and systems of patriarchy and misogyny in her works and discussions. Tarabotti wrote at least seven works, though only five were published during her lifetime. Because of the politics of Tarabotti’s works, many scholars consider her “a protofeminist writer as well as an early political theorist.”