This, the first critical collection on Delarivier Manley, revisits the most heated discussions and adds new perspectives that will change the conversation on the foremost woman writer in the age of Queen Anne. This compilation demonstrates the wide range of thinking about Manley’s literary production and significance. While contributors reconsider some of her well-known texts through her generic intertextuality or unresolved political moments, the collection focuses more on those works that have had less attention: dramas, correspondence, journalistic endeavors, and late prose fiction. The methodological approaches incorporate traditional investigations of Manley, such as historical research, gender theory, and comparative close readings, as well as some recently influential theories, like geocriticism and affect studies. The collection features three thematic sections: The section “Power” reexamines political aspects in Manley studies , the “Sex” section extends work on gender and sexuality in her work, and “Text” demonstrates how Manley has made vital contributions to the full range of forms in which she wrote, synthesizing existing genres and creating new ones. In contrast to the many ways Manley has been too easily dismissed, this collection carefully considers many points of view, and opens the way for new analyses of Manley’s life and work. The “breaking” this collection performs is neither violent nor divisive; it is the work of scholars who are ready to crack the seal on critical conversations old and new, and to let the discussion unfold.