In Those Who Write for Immortality, [Heather] Jackson includes a checklist of factors relevant to literary survival. Did the writer have family and friends to ensure that her work stayed in print? When was her biography written, and by whom? Was she associated with a movement, or significant people?

At The Hairpin, contributing editor Alexandra Molotkow examines the changing state of writers’ literary and historical legacies, through the lens of scholar Heather Jackson and 18th century author Charlotte Lennox.