Writing Women in Jacobean England [Paperback]

Barbara Kiefer Lewalski (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0674962435 | ISBN-13: 978-0674962439 | Publication Date: August 19, 1998

When was feminism born - in the 1960s, or in the 1660s? For England, the answer might be the early decades of the 17th century. James I was King of England, and women were expected to be chaste, obedient, subordinate and silent. Some, however, were not, and these are the women who interest Barbara Lewalski, those who, as petitioners and patrons, historians and poets took up the pen to challenge and subvert the repressive patriarchal ideology of Jacobean England. Setting out to show how these women wrote themselves into their culture, Lewalski rewrites Renaissance history to include some of its most compelling - and neglected - voices. In these women, Lewalski identifies an early challenge to the dominant culture - and an ongoing challenge to our understanding of the Renaissance world.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

In early 17th-century England, an era known for patriarchy and repression, women were expected to know their place and keep silent. Yet male domination was resisted and challenged by some of these women in their domestic lives and through their letters, diaries, poetry, and drama. In this thoroughly researched volume of criticism, Lewalski analyzes the long-ignored writing of such women as Elizabeth Cary, Aemilia Lanyer, Rachel Speght, and Mary Wroth, as well as Queen Anne and Princess Elizabeth. Their writings provide valuable insight into the roles women played in the literary and social milieu of Jacobean England. An important contribution to the study of English literature and feminism that will encourage further investigation of a neglected era, this book is highly recommended for all academic libraries.
- Nancy R. Ives, SUNY at Geneseo
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Harvard University Press (August 19, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0674962435
• ISBN-13: 978-0674962439
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,221,310 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great book from a great critic, May 15, 2001

By 

Nizar Hermes (the University of Northern Iowa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Writing Women in Jacobean England (Paperback)

Through focusing on women writers of the Jacobean period, Barbara kiefer Lwalski celebrates the "resistance' that those women exposed not only to the patriarchal culture, but also to its misogyny and anti-feminism. Lewalski reads against many critics who see in the Jacobean women writing as a mere literary experience void of any political resistance and subversion. In fact, Lewalski's tendency to cultural materialism criticism has conspicuously influenced her critique of the women writing experience in the Jacobean era.