This timely volume represents one of the first comprehensive, student-oriented guides to the under-published field of early modern women's writing.
- Brings together more than twenty leading international scholars to provide the definitive survey volume to the field of early modern women's writing
- Examines individual texts, including works by Mary Sidney, Margaret Cavendish and Aphra Behn
- Explores the historical context and generic diversity of early modern women's writing, as well as the theoretical issues that underpin its study
- Provides a clear sense of the full extent of women's contributions to early modern literary culture
Notes on Contributors x
Introduction xiv
PART ONE Contexts 1
1 Women and Education 3
Kenneth Charlton
2 Religion and the Construction of the Feminine 22
Diane Willen
3 Women, Property and Law 40
Tim Stretton
4 Women and Work 58
Sara H. Mendelson
5 Women and Writing 77
Margaret J. M. Ezell
PART TWO Readings 95
6 Isabella Whitney, A Sweet Nosegay 97
Patricia Brace
7 Mary Sidney, Countess of Pembroke, Psalmes 110
Debra K. Rienstra
8 Aemilia Lanyer, Salve Deus Rex Judaeorum 125
Susanne Woods
9 Elizabeth Cary, The Tragedy of Mariam and History 136
Elaine Beilin
10 Mary Wrotl)