The Literary Career and Legacy of Elizabeth Cary, 1613-1680 [Hardcover]

Heather Wolfe (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 26, 2006

This collection is the first book-length study of the writings and influence of Elizabeth Cary, author of the first original play by a woman to be printed in English, The Tragedy of Mariam (1613). While previous criticism has focused most exclusively on The Tragedie of Mariam and The History of Edward II, the essays in this volume broaden our understanding of Cary as a writer by incorporating critical and historical analyses of her forays into other genres as well. Always mindful of the literary, political, and religious backdrop of early Stuart England, the essays explore the extent of her engagement in both the print and manuscript worlds of early modern England. The essays address crucial questions about authorship, form, and reception and avoid generalizations about gender that would smooth over her consistently ambiguous portrayals of male and female figures and her complicated appropriations of typically "male" genres.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This is a splendid collection of essays, treating the entire range of Elizabeth Cary's writing and its literary, political, and religious resonances and affiliations. Several essays offer new critical perspectives on Cary's closet drama, The Tragedy of Mariam, and others explore the relations between and political import of the two printed versions of her The History of Edward II and the two recently discovered manuscripts of that work. Some essays treat her translation of the Roman Catholic controversalist Du Perron and her epitaph (and elegy?) on the assassination of Buckingham, works which involved her directly with fraught contemporary issues.  Still others treat her private letters, her patronage of writers and Irish social projects, her association with court and intellectual circles, and her influence on the writings of her children. The collection significantly advances our knowledge of Cary and her age, as well as testifying to the maturity the study of early modern women's writing has now attained."--Barbara Lewalski, Kenan Professor of English Literature, Harvard University
 

About the Author

Heather Wolfe is a distinguished scholar and the Curator of Manuscripts, Folger Shakespeare Library.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan (December 26, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1403970165
• ISBN-13: 978-1403970169
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,455,638 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)