Material Cultures of Early Modern Women's Writing - (Early Modern Literature in History) by P Pender & R Smith (Hardcover)

About the Book

"This collection examines the diverse material cultures through which early modern women's writing was produced, transmitted, and received, focusing on the ways it was originally packaged and promoted, how it circulated in its contemporary contexts, and how it was read and received in its original publication and in later revisions and redactions. In doing so, Material Cultures of Early Modern Women's Writing offers an account of the ways in which cultural mediation shapes our interpretations of early modern women's texts. The collection draws upon recent concepts of publication as 'event' - multiple, choral and occurring across different modes and times - in order to expand our conception of who early modern women writers were, how they wrote and circulated their texts, and how the reception of their work over time determines who and what is read now. Collectively, the essays in this book challenge not only how we read, analyse and value early modern women's writing, but also our understanding of the production, transmission, and reception of early modern literature more broadly"--

Book Synopsis

This collection examines the diverse material cultures through which early modern women's writing was produced, transmitted, and received. It focuses on the ways it was originally packaged and promoted, how it circulated in its contemporary contexts, and how it was read and received in its original publication and in later revisions and redactions.

Review Quotes

"This fascinating collection of essays, edited by Patricia Pender and Rosalind Smith, explores the material cultures of early modern women's writing as a new way of examining production, transmission and reception. ... The editors are to be congratulated for assembling such a tightly focused, conceptually vibrant and coherent volume. ... Read as a whole, the collection makes an invaluable contribution to the history of the book and adds a genuinely gendered dimension to scholarship interested in material texts." (James Daybell, English Historical Review, Vol. 131 (552), October, 2016)

"Essays in the volume explore the systems of textual production, transmission, and reception that influenced and enabled early modern women writers. ... The essays are generally of a very high quality, many written by some of the best scholars working on early modern women writers. ... Not only do the essays illuminate the writers under consideration, they also offer innovative ways of thinking about theact of writing." (Studies in English Literature 1500-1900, Vol. 56, 2016)

"This collection of essays concerns itself with notions of authorship in the context of the materiality of books and manuscripts. ... The examination of shared credit in print culture is much in vogue these days, but this particular collection works well and is a pleasure to read. ... The collection is both useful and readable. It sometimes surprises and does not disappoint." (James Fitzmaurice, Renaissance Quarterly, Vol. 68 (4), 2015)

About the Author

Marie-Louise Coolahan, National University of Ireland, Ireland Margaret J.M. Ezell, Texas A&M University, USA Kate Lilley, University of Sydney, Australia Michelle O'Callaghan, University of Reading, UK Patricia Pender, University of Newcastle, Australia Paul Salzman, La Trobe University, Australia Helen Smith, University of York, UK Rosalind Smith, University of Newcastle, Australia Deborah Uman, St. John Fisher College, USA.