Betty T. Bennett (1935–2006) was Distinguished Professor of

Literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...

and Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences (1985–1997) at

American University The American University (AU or American) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Its main campus spans 90-acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, in the Spri ...

. She was previously Dean of the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences and acting provost of Pratt Institute from 1979 to 1985. Among her numerous awards and honors, Bennett was a fellow of the

National Endowment for the Humanities The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government, established by thNational Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965(), dedicated to supporting research, education, preserv ...

and fellow of

American Council of Learned Societies The American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) is a private, nonprofit federation of 75 scholarly organizations in the humanities and related social sciences founded in 1919. It is best known for its fellowship competitions which provide a ra ...

. She won the Keats-Shelley Association of America - Distinguished Scholar Award in 1992 and was Founding President,

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...

, Zeta Chapter at

. Born in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, Bennett graduated from

Brooklyn College Brooklyn College is a public university in Brooklyn in New York City, United States. It is part of the City University of New York system and enrolls nearly 14,000 students on a campus in the Midwood and Flatbush sections of Brooklyn as of fall ...

''magna cum laude'' and later received a master's degree (1962) and PhD (1970) in English and American literature from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

. Bennett was an internationally known scholar on the life of ''

Frankenstein ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 Gothic novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a Sapience, sapient Frankenstein's monster, crea ...

'' author Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley and her circle of friends. She is best known for her three-volume ''The Letters of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley,'' which she edited and published from 1980 to 1988. In a 1988 review of Dr. Bennett's final volume of the letters, author Brian Aldiss declared her work "a great contribution to scholarship, and one that never need be done again.""AU Dean, Professor Betty Bennet, 71"
Washington Post. Retrieved January 10, 2007 The books contain nearly 1,300 letters, some 500 of which were previously unpublished. For several years before her death, Bennett worked on a much anticipated literary biography of Shelley, which is scheduled to be released by

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is an academic publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University. It is a member of the Association of University Presses. Its director since 2017 is George Andreou. The pres ...

Major publications

As author: *''British War Poetry in the Age of Romanticism, 1793-1815'' (1976) *''The Evidence of the Imagination: Studies of Interactions Between Life and Art in English Romantic Literature'' (1978) *'' Mary Diana Dods, a Gentleman and a Scholar'' (1991) *''Shelley: Poet and Legislator of the World'' (1996) *''Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley: An Introduction'' (1998) *''Mary Shelley in Her Times'' (2000) As editor or co-editor: *''The Letters of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley'' (1980–88) *''The Mary Shelley Reader'' (1990) *''Mythological Dramas: Proserpine and Midas'' (1992) (works by Mary Shelley) *''Selected Letters of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley'' (1995) *''Lives of the Great Romantics'', Volume 3, ''Godwin, Wollstonecraft, and Mary Shelley by Their Contemporaries'' (1999) (editor)

External links

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, Betty T. American University faculty 1935 births 2006 deaths Brooklyn College alumni