Early Modern Women’s Life-Writing and English Law

Lotte Fikkers is Lecturer and Postdoctoral Researcher in the English Department at Leiden University. Her research sits at the intersection of early modern law and literature, with a particular interest in early modern women’s writing. Her postdoctoral work is part of the ERC Consolidator funded project FEATHERS, which investigates early modern collaboration and authorship.

This book is an incredibly detailed exploration of early modern women’s voices from a rich repository of primary sources. Drawing upon a wealth of material from early modern courts, it provides a depth of insight into women’s lived realities in the period, providing a unique opportunity to hear women speak about the experiences that shaped their lives.

• Notes and conventionsAcknowledgementsIntroduction: Tracing early modern women’s lives1. Constraints of the courtroom and its records2. Courtship and marriage3. Sex and slander4. Widows5. Afterlives: case studies in the production of alternative truthsConclusion: Shared strategies in women’s self-representationBibliography