Women Writers In Renaissance England

Of all the new developments in literary theory, feminism has proved to be the most widely influential, leading to an expansion of the traditional English canon in all periods of study. This book aims to make the work of Renaissance women writers in English better known to general and academic readers so as to strengthen the case for their future inclusion in the Renaissance literary canon.

This lively book surveys women writers in the sixteenth century and early seventeenth centuries. Its selection is vast, historically representative, and original, taking examples from twenty different, relatively unknown authors in all genres of writing, including poetry, fiction, religious works, letters and journals, translation, and books on childcare. It establishes new contexts for the debate about women as writers within the period and suggests potential intertextual connections with works by well-known male authors of the same time.

Individual authors and works are given concise introductions, with both modern and historical critical analysis, setting them in a theoretical and historicised context. All texts are made readily accessible through modern spelling and punctuation, on-the-page annotation and headnotes. The substantial, up-to-date bibliography provides a source for further study and research.

A revised edition of a definitive anthology of women's writing in the Renaissance. 

• Contains specially designed annotations to suit the needs of the undergraduate student
• Focuses on the key issue of femininity in Renaissance England
• Contains a new introduction which brings the book right into the 21st century

Randall Martin is professor of English, at the University of New Brunswick, Canada.

Acknowledgements

Preface to the Second Edition by Christina Luckyj

Introduction

 

1. PREAMBLE: WOMEN’S SELF-IMAGE AS WRITERS

Margaret Tyler

Anne Dowriche

Rachel Speght

Elizabeth Jocelin

 

2. PROSE

Katherine Parr, Queen of England

Anne Askew

Jane Anger

Elizabeth Grymeston

Dorothy Leigh

Rachel Speght

Elizabeth Caldwell

Elizabeth Clinton

Elizabeth Cary

 

3. AUTOBIOGRAPHY

Margaret, Lady Hoby

Grace, Lady Mildmay

Mary Ward

Lady Anne Clifford

 

4. VERSE

Isabella Whitney

Mary (Sidney) Herbert

Anne Dowriche

Aemilia Lanyer

Lady Mary Wroth

Rachel Speght 

 

Textual notes

Bibliography