Historical references to colonial America and eighteenth-century England, the fantasy of a feminist utopia, and the woman's role in colonialism and religious conversion are just a few of the components of this narrative. One of the criticisms that accompanied its publication in 1767 was that female readers might possibly partake in similar adventures, thus questioning their lives and limitations. The fear was that the virtue of the women of this period would be potentially endangered. In order to assuage such concerns, the introduction emphasizes that the story is not only "pleasing and instructive" but "fit to be perused by the youth of both sexes, as a rational, moral entertainment."