Sean Ward (Ph.D., Stanford University, 1998) is a freelance writer and translator. His scholarly articles have appeared in The Seventeenth Century, Seventeenth-Century French Studies, and Jahrbuch des Heidelberger Geschichtsvereins. In addition, he co-edited New Essays on the Origin of Language (De Gruyter Mouton, 2001) and contributed entries on medieval Latin poetry and drama to A New History of German Literature (Harvard University Press, 2004).

"This lively historical memoir was written by a fascinating, intelligent, and strong figure who was related to most of the royal houses of Europe. Ward has succeeded marvelously in bringing Sophia of Hanover to life for a modern audience. Readers will be delighted to discover the wit, critical spirit, and storytelling skill of this woman who inhabited and visited many seventeenth-century courts and knew how to write a compelling narrative of her world."

• Acknowledgments ixIntroduction 1Memoirs 31Chapter 1: Leiden, The Hague (1630–50) 35Chapter 2: Heidelberg (1650–58) 53Chapter 3: Hanover (1658–62) 79Chapter 4: Italy (1664–65) 95Chapter 5: Iburg, Osnabrück (1665–79) 119Chapter 6: France (1679) 149Chapter 7: Osnabrück, Nykøbing, Hanover (1679–80) 179AppendixMap: Holy Roman Empire, 1648 187Genealogy: House of Orange 188Genealogy: House of Stuart 189Genealogy: House of Brunswick-Lüneburg (Hanover) 190Bibliography 191Name Index 197

Sean Ward (Ph.D., Stanford University, 1998) is a freelance writer and translator. His scholarly articles have appeared in The Seventeenth Century, Seventeenth-Century French Studies, and Jahrbuch des Heidelberger Geschichtsvereins. In addition, he co-edited New Essays on the Origin of Language (De Gruyter Mouton, 2001) and contributed entries on medieval Latin poetry and drama to A New History of German Literature (Harvard University Press, 2004).

"This lively historical memoir was written by a fascinating, intelligent, and strong figure who was related to most of the royal houses of Europe. Ward has succeeded marvelously in bringing Sophia of Hanover to life for a modern audience. Readers will be delighted to discover the wit, critical spirit, and storytelling skill of this woman who inhabited and visited many seventeenth-century courts and knew how to write a compelling narrative of her world."

• Acknowledgments ixIntroduction 1Memoirs 31Chapter 1: Leiden, The Hague (1630–50) 35Chapter 2: Heidelberg (1650–58) 53Chapter 3: Hanover (1658–62) 79Chapter 4: Italy (1664–65) 95Chapter 5: Iburg, Osnabrück (1665–79) 119Chapter 6: France (1679) 149Chapter 7: Osnabrück, Nykøbing, Hanover (1679–80) 179AppendixMap: Holy Roman Empire, 1648 187Genealogy: House of Orange 188Genealogy: House of Stuart 189Genealogy: House of Brunswick-Lüneburg (Hanover) 190Bibliography 191Name Index 197

Sean Ward (Ph.D., Stanford University, 1998) is a freelance writer and translator. His scholarly articles have appeared in The Seventeenth Century, Seventeenth-Century French Studies, and Jahrbuch des Heidelberger Geschichtsvereins. In addition, he co-edited New Essays on the Origin of Language (De Gruyter Mouton, 2001) and contributed entries on medieval Latin poetry and drama to A New History of German Literature (Harvard University Press, 2004).

"This lively historical memoir was written by a fascinating, intelligent, and strong figure who was related to most of the royal houses of Europe. Ward has succeeded marvelously in bringing Sophia of Hanover to life for a modern audience. Readers will be delighted to discover the wit, critical spirit, and storytelling skill of this woman who inhabited and visited many seventeenth-century courts and knew how to write a compelling narrative of her world."

• Acknowledgments ixIntroduction 1Memoirs 31Chapter 1: Leiden, The Hague (1630–50) 35Chapter 2: Heidelberg (1650–58) 53Chapter 3: Hanover (1658–62) 79Chapter 4: Italy (1664–65) 95Chapter 5: Iburg, Osnabrück (1665–79) 119Chapter 6: France (1679) 149Chapter 7: Osnabrück, Nykøbing, Hanover (1679–80) 179AppendixMap: Holy Roman Empire, 1648 187Genealogy: House of Orange 188Genealogy: House of Stuart 189Genealogy: House of Brunswick-Lüneburg (Hanover) 190Bibliography 191Name Index 197