Mary Sidney, Lady Wroth

Despite her fascinating life and her importance as a writer, until now Lady Mary Wroth has never been the subject of a full-length biography. Margaret Hannay's reliance on primary sources results in some corrections, as well as additions, to our knowledge of Wroth's life, including Hannay's discovery of the career of her son William, the marriages of her daughter Katherine, her grandchildren, her last years, the date of her death, and the subsequent history of her manuscripts. This biography situates Lady Mary Wroth in her family and court context, emphasizing the growth of the writer's mind in the sections on her childhood and youth, with particular attention to her learned aunt, Mary Sidney Herbert, Countess of Pembroke, as literary mentor, and to her Continental connections, notably Louise de Coligny, Princess of Orange, and her stepson Prince Maurice. Subsequent chapters of the biography treat her experience at the court of Queen Anne, her relationships with parents and siblings, her love for her cousin William Herbert, her marriage to Robert Wroth, the birth and early death of her only legitimate child, her finances and properties, her natural children, her grandchildren, and her last years in the midst of England's civil wars. Throughout the biography attention is paid to the complex connections between Wroth's life and work. The narrative is enhanced with a chronology; family trees for the Sidneys and Wroths; a map of Essex, showing where Wroth lived; a chart of family alliances; portraits; and illustrations from her manuscripts.

Prize: Winner of the Society for the Study of Early Modern Women Book Award, 2011 Classified as 'Basic Essential' by Baker & Taylor YBP Library Services. 'Margaret Hannay’s Mary Sidney, Lady Wroth is a deeply impressive work of scholarship, notable for its remarkable scope and meticulous detail. The book brims with valuable information and astute observations about Wroth’s literary career, marriage, children, and social life, and corrects the record on a number of key points with new archival evidence. Hannay richly describes Wroth’s world and offers a thoroughly engaging portrait of the brilliant Mary Wroth herself.' Elaine V. Beilin, Framingham State College, USA 'This first full-length biography of Lady Mary Wroth offers an exciting and authoritative new contribution to Renaissance studies. Scrupulously researched and compulsively readable, Margaret Hannay's narrative vividly conveys the personal life, court career and prolific literary productivity of this remarkably talented and creative member of the Sidney family.' Michael G. Brennan, University of Leeds, UK ’This is a fascinating study of one of the most interesting and provocative writers of the English Renaissance. Summing Up: Highly recommended.’ Choice ’This definitve biography is especially welcome as its author is Margaret P. Hannay, the biographer and editor of Mary Sidney Herbert, Countess of Pembroke, Wroth's aunt (and William Herbert's mother)...Hannay's meticulous research has unearthed significant findings about her subject's later life, and about the illegitimate twins she bore to William Herbert.’ Times Literary Supplement 'This biography will not only provide new and fascinating information for scholars already familiar with Wroth's work, it is also a fine introduction for those less familiar with her life and extensive oeuvre. Ashgate has provided Hannay with excellent production values and the book is well illustrated...' Parergon 'This is the first full-length biograph

Margaret P. Hannay, Professor of English at Siena College, is the author of Mary Sidney, Lady Wroth and Philip's Phoenix: Mary Sidney, Countess of Pembroke, editor of Silent but for the Word: Tudor Women as Patrons, Translators, and Writers of Religious Works, and editor, with Susanne Woods, of Teaching Tudor and Stuart Women Writers. With Noel J. Kinnamon and Michael G. Brennan, she has edited The Collected Works of Mary Sidney Herbert, Countess of Pembroke; Selected Works of Mary Sidney Herbert, Countess of Pembroke; Domestic Politics and Family Absence: The Correspondence (1588-1621) of Robert Sidney, First Earl of Leicester, and Barbara Gamage Sidney, Countess of Leicester; and The Correspondence of Dorothy Percy Sidney, Countess of Leicester.

Despite her fascinating life and her importance as a writer, until now Lady Mary Wroth has never been given a full-length biography. Margaret Hannay's heavy reliance on primary sources results in some corrections, as well as additions, to our knowledge of Wroth's life.This biography of Lady Mary Wroth emphasizes the growth of the writer's mind in the sections on her childhood and youth, with particular attention to her learned aunt, Mary Sidney Herbert, as literary mentor, and to her Continental connections, notably Louise de Coligny, Princess of Orange and her stepson Prince Maurice, with whom Mary lived in Flushing during her childhood sojourns there.Subsequent chapters of the biography treat her experience at the court of Queen Anne (including her roles in Jonson's masques and her association with Elizabeth Stuart, later Queen of Bohemia), her love for her cousin William Herbert, her marriage to Robert Wroth, her experience as a member of the Wroth family of Essex, the birth and early death of her only legitimate child, her finances and properties, her natural children, and her last years.The narrative is enhanced with tables and appendices, including: a chronology; a map of England, marking places where Wroth lived; a map of the Netherlands, showing Flushing (Vlissingen); family trees of the Sidneys and the Wroths; and a chart of family alliancesLady Mary Wroth, A Biography is essential reading for scholars working on early modern women and on the various members of the Sidney family. Its detailed representation of family life in the period from 1585 to 1653 will also interest historians and literary scholars of the period.

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