Petrarch was Italy's second most famous writer (after Dante), and indeed from the fifteenth to the nineteenth centuries he was much better known and more influential in English literature than Dante. His Italian love lyrics constituted the major influence on European love poetry for at least two centuries from 1400 to 1600, and in Britain he was imitated by Chaucer, the Elizabethans, and other lyric poets up until the end of the eighteenth century. With Romanticism Dante ousted Petrarch from his pre-eminent position, but in our post-Romantic age, attention has now started to swing back to...

Arcangela Tarabotti (1604-52) was forced into a Benedictine convent at sixteen by her father. This manifesto argues against the oppression of women by the Venetian patriarchy. Through readings of the Bible Tarabotti demonstrates that women are clearly equal in God's eyes.

Arcangela Tarabotti (1604-52) was forced into a Benedictine convent at sixteen by her father. This manifesto argues against the oppression of women by the Venetian patriarchy. Through readings of the Bible Tarabotti demonstrates that women are clearly equal in God's eyes.

This volume offers a comprehensive historical account of writing by women in Italy. Covering writing from the Middle Ages to the present day, it moves away from narrow definitions of literature, and brings to light other forms of expression such as letter writing, religious and devotional writing, travel writing, and journalism. Contributors point to the considerable practical, social and ideological difficulties faced by women in writing and presenting their work to a wider reading public, but also highlight the determination of women through the centuries in making their voices heard.