A Biographical Encyclopedia of Early Modern Englishwomen

Exemplary Lives and Memorable Acts, 1500-1650

Carole Levin, Anna Riehl Bertolet, Jo Eldridge Carney, Carole Levin, Anna Riehl Bertolet, Jo Eldridge Carney

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2016
• Print ISBN:
  9780367882532
• eBook ISBN:
  9781315440705
• Topic: Literatur
• Subtopic: Sozialwissenschaftliche Biographien

From the exemplary to the notorious to the obscure, this comprehensive and innovative encyclopedia showcases the worthy women of early modern England. Poets, princesses, or pirates, the women of power and agency found in these pages are indeed worth knowing, and this volume will introduce many female figures to even the most established scholars in early modern studies. Rather than using the conventional alphabetical format of the standard biographical encyclopedia, this volume is divided into categories of women. Since many women will fit in more than one category, each woman is placed in the category that best exemplifies her life, and is cross referenced in other appropriate sections. This structure makes the book an interesting read for seasoned scholars of early modern women, while students need not already be familiar with these subjects in order to benefit from the text. Another unusual feature of this reference work is that each entry begins with some incident from the woman's life that is particularly exciting or significant. Some entries are very brief while others are extensive. Each includes a source listing. The book is well illustrated and liberally sprinkled with quotations of the time either by or about the women in the text.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• List of illustrations
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• 1 Artists, musicians, and entertainers
• 2 Criminals
• 3 Entrepreneurs and builders
• 4 Immigrants, expatriates, exiles, and world travelers
• 5 Jewish women
• 6 Litigants
• 7 Madwomen
• 8 Mistresses
• 9 Mothers, daughters, wives, and widows
• 10 Patrons and philanthropists
• 11 Pirates and warriors
• 12 Political women
• 13 Printers
• 14 Prostitutes
• 15 Royal family
• 16 Scholars
• 17 Witches
• 18 Women and needlework
• 19 Women and religion
• 20 Women and theatre
• 21 Women at court
• 22 Writers
• Entries in alphabetical order
• Notes on the editors
• List of contributors