Female Transgression in Early Modern Britain: Literary and Historical Explorations [Paperback]

Presenting a broad spectrum of reflections on the subject of female transgression in early modern Britain, this volume proposes a richly productive dialogue between literary and historical approaches to the topic. The essays presented here cover a range of transgressive women: daughters, witches, prostitutes, thieves; mothers/wives/murderers; violence in NW England; violence in Scotland; single mothers; women as (sexual) partners in crime. Contributions illustrate the dynamic relation between fiction and fact that informs literary and socio-historical analysis alike, exploring female transgression as a process, not of crossing fixed boundaries, but of negotiating the epistemological space between representation and documentation.Containing wide-ranging reflections on the subject of female transgression in early modern Britain, this volume presents a richly productive dialogue between literary and historical approaches to the topic. The contributors illustrate the dynamic relation between fiction and fact that informs literary and socio-historical analysis alike, exploring female transgression as a process, not of crossing fixed boundaries, but of negotiating the epistemological space between representation and documentation.Richard Hillman is Professor of English, Centre d?0tudes Sup?rieures de la Renaissance, Universit? Fran??ois-Rabelais de Tours/CNRS, France. Pauline Ruberry-Blanc is Senior Lecturer in English, Centre d?0tudes Sup?rieures de la Renaissance, Universit? Fran??ois-Rabelais de Tours/CNRS, France.'This is a wide-ranging collection that both literary critics and historians will find informative and thought-provoking, and which offers new insights on well-known themes related to women, crime and transgression.' Garthine Walker, Cardiff University, UK 'The first three essays in this collection demonstrate the strengths of analysing literature alongside its factual context for creative insights ... the collection is worthwhile for students and acadlã)