Romancing the Self in Early Modern Englishwomen's Life Writing

ISBN-13: 9781138253803 / Angielski / Miękka / 2016 / 230 str.

Julie A. Eckerle

Opis

Juxtaposing life writing and romance, this study offers the first book-length exploration of the dynamic and complex relationship between the two genres. Through close analysis of a wide variety of life writings by early modern Englishwomen, Eckerle shows how deeply influenced these women were by the controversial romance genre. Her analysis adds a layer of significant nuance to our understanding of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century women's reading and writing literacies.

Recenzje

'Bringing together two strands of scholarship-romance and life-writing, Julie Eckerle provides deep and sometimes unexpected insights into each. This study represents a highly significant contribution to the field that will be much-cited in future criticism.' Mary Ellen Lamb, Southern Illinois University, USA 'Eckerle's most innovative contribution to women's literary history, and the heart of her book, is the detailed analysis of the life writing texts themselves ... The interweaving of primary sources from across the centuries ... creates suggestive juxtapositions and establishes the significance of romance narratives for women as readers and writers. At the same time, it offers a welcome reminder of the potential of life writing to complicate and enrich our histories of reading.' SHARP News '... illuminating new book ... our understanding of the historical complexity of selfnarrative is enriched by this fascinating study.' Renaissance Quarterly

Spis treści

Contents: Introduction: life writing through the lens of romance; Women’s literacy practices and the mechanics of reading romance; The woman’s autobiographical voice in early modern romance; Becoming the heroine; The specter of romance; Romancing the self in autobiographical romance; Bibliography; Index.

O autorze

Julie A. Eckerle is Associate Professor of English at the University of Minnesota, Morris, USA.