Description: Early Modern Englishwomen Testing Ideas explores how women in England participated in the considerable intellectual and cultural diversity which characterised the late early modern period. This collection looks particularly at early modern women philosophers, playwrights and novelists, and considers how they engaged with ideas and debates over phil
Review Quotes: 'This collection is a timely addition to the growing body of work on this topic. And the range of essays in the collection offers readings of women with such diverse interests and backgrounds as Mary Astell, Margaret Cavendish, Katherine Phillips, Eliza Haywood, and Aphra Behn.' British Society for Literature and Science 'This collection of new essays provides a welcome addition to Ashgate's significant body of work on early modern women's writing. Including a nice balance of essays between established scholars and new researchers, this volume covers printed texts of a relatively small range of major writers from the mid-seventeenth century to the early eighteenth century: there are chapters on works by Mary Astell, Margaret Cavendish, Aphra Behn, Katherine Philips and Eliza Haywood.' Literature & History '... the essays do present an interesting view of the types of writing women were engaging in during this period.' Sixteenth Century Studies