
The Elizabethan Country House Entertainment
Print, Performance and Gender
- English
- PDF
- Available on iOS & Android
About this book
This is the first full-length critical study of country house entertainment, a genre central to late Elizabethan politics. It shows how the short plays staged for the Queen at country estates like Kenilworth Castle and Elvetham shaped literary trends and intervened in political debates, including whether women made good politicians and what roles the church and local culture should play in definitions of England. In performance and print, country house entertainments facilitated political negotiations, rethought gender roles, and crafted regional and national identities. In its investigation of how the hosts used performances to negotiate local and national politics, the book also sheds light on how and why such entertainments enabled female performance and authorship at a time when English women did not write or perform commercial plays. Written in a lively and accessible style, this is fascinating reading for scholars and students of early modern literature, theatre, and women's history.
Frequently asked questions
- Essential is ideal for learners and professionals who enjoy exploring a wide range of subjects. Access the Essential Library with 800,000+ trusted titles and best-sellers across business, personal growth, and the humanities. Includes unlimited reading time and Standard Read Aloud voice.
- Complete: Perfect for advanced learners and researchers needing full, unrestricted access. Unlock 1.4M+ books across hundreds of subjects, including academic and specialized titles. The Complete Plan also includes advanced features like Premium Read Aloud and Research Assistant.
Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app.
Information
Table of contents
- Cover
- Half title
- Title
- Copyright
- Dedication
- Contents
- List of Illustrations
- Acknowledgments
- List of Abbreviations
- Note on Transcription and Citation
- Introduction
- Part I Performance
- Part II Print
- Epilogue: The Genre's Afterlives in Stuart England
- Appendix 1 Elizabethan Country House Entertainments
- Appendix 2 English Translation of Theobalds (1571): "Congratulatory Poem of the House of Cecil on the Arrival of the Fairest Queen 22 September 1571"
- Index