Description: An examination of the representation of female identity, creativity and power at the intersections of drama, literature, portraiture and visual culture.
Brief description: Chris Laoutaris is Senior Lecturer at the Shakespeare Institute, University of Birmingham, UK. His most recent book, Shakespeare and the Countess: The Battle that Gave Birth to the Globe was shortlisted for the Tony Lothian Prize for Biography, and was Observer and Telegraph Book of the Year. It contains material on Lady Elizabeth Russell's patronage of portraiture and funerary sculpture, as well as her connection to early modern female literary and religious coteries. His monograph Shakespearean Maternities is an interdisciplinary study of the maternal body across the fields of drama, art, medicine and material culture.
Review Quotes: "This wonderful book shines new light on a dazzling cast of female characters, many of whom have remained in the shadows for more than 400 years. Impeccably researched and endlessly fascinating." --Tracy Borman, Author, Broadcaster, TV presenter and Chief Curator of Historic Royal Palaces, UK