Karen Britland – författare

Women Writing in a Time of War, 1642-1689 explores the stereotype of the apolitical woman who was nevertheless valuable as a messenger or secret agent during the English civil wars, not least because her imagined lack of political acumen obscured her partisan behaviour. It examines the interconnections between early modern men and women's cultural production, analyzing the secret writing and communication strategies employed by agents and spies during the wars and arguing that an attention to clandestine modes of writing provides new insights into women's literary production during the conflict. Encouraging us to understand such literary production differently, Britland offers a new history of early modern political writing, one deeply imbricated in-but by no means exclusively focused on-the literary work and experiences of women, the non-elite, and the racially marginalized in early modern England and its colonial trade networks.An attentiveness to the narrative strategies deployed by women writers during the English civil wars also helps us to think about the long histories subtending our own reading and writing practices. Not only does the relative invisibility of female agents in our own historiography reveal a persistent tendency in contemporary criticism to overlook women's contributions to major historical events, but, the book argues, the early modern instrumentalization of women's bodies-particularly the bodies of women from non-elite backgrounds who acted as couriers within elite communication networks-acts as a caution against adopting contemporary methods of reading (particularly computer-aided reading) that can downplay or ignore the contributions of women and non-elite people. This book makes a case for not separating our discussions of women from those of men, nor for privileging analyses of the rich over those of the poor, at the same time as it remains deeply embedded in the literary, material, and merchant cultures of later seventeenth-century England.

Drama at the Courts of Queen Henrietta Maria, published in 2006, considers Queen Henrietta Maria's patronage of drama in England in the light of her French heritage. Karen Britland challenges a common view of Henrietta Maria as a meddlesome and frivolous woman whose actions contributed to the outbreak of the English civil wars by showing how she was consistent in her allegiances to her family and friends, and how her cultural and political positions were reflected in the plays and court masques she sponsored. Unlike previous studies, this book considers the queen's upbringing at the French court and her later exile in France during the English civil wars, and is therefore able to challenge received notions about her activities in England during the 1630s. Karen Britland employs innovative research by combining discussions of literary texts with historical and archival research and discussions of art, architecture and music.

Drama at the Courts of Queen Henrietta Maria, published in 2006, considers Queen Henrietta Maria's patronage of drama in England in the light of her French heritage. Karen Britland challenges a common view of Henrietta Maria as a meddlesome and frivolous woman whose actions contributed to the outbreak of the English civil wars by showing how she was consistent in her allegiances to her family and friends, and how her cultural and political positions were reflected in the plays and court masques she sponsored. Unlike previous studies, this book considers the queen's upbringing at the French court and her later exile in France during the English civil wars, and is therefore able to challenge received notions about her activities in England during the 1630s. Karen Britland employs innovative research by combining discussions of literary texts with historical and archival research and discussions of art, architecture and music.

The Tragedy of Mariam, the Fair Queen of Jewry is a Jacobean closet drama by Elizabeth Tanfield Cary. First published in 1613, it was the first work by a woman to be published under her real name. Never performed during Cary's lifetime, and apparently never intended for performance, the Senecan revenge tragedy tells the story of Mariam, the second wife of Herod. The play exposes and explores the themes of sex, divorce, betrayal, murder, and Jewish society under Herod's tyrannous rule. The wide-ranging introduction discusses the play in the context of closet drama, female dramatists and feminist criticism, providing an ideal edition for study and teaching. This is a major edition of an unusual and provocative play not widely available elsewhere.

The Tragedy of Mariam, the Fair Queen of Jewry is a Jacobean closet drama by Elizabeth Tanfield Cary. First published in 1613, it was the first work by a woman to be published under her real name. Never performed during Cary's lifetime, and apparently never intended for performance, the Senecan revenge tragedy tells the story of Mariam, the second wife of Herod. The play exposes and explores the themes of sex, divorce, betrayal, murder, and Jewish society under Herod's tyrannous rule. The wide-ranging introduction discusses the play in the context of closet drama, female dramatists and feminist criticism, providing an ideal edition for study and teaching. This is a major edition of an unusual and provocative play not widely available elsewhere.

The Dutch Courtesan is a riotous tragicomedy that explores the delights and perils afforded by Jacobean London. While Freevill, an educated young Englishman and the play's nominal hero, frolics in the city's streets, taverns and brothels, Franceschina, his cast-off mistress and the Dutch courtesan of the play's title,laments his betrayal and plots revenge. Juxtaposing Franceschina's vulnerable financial position against the unappealing marital prospects available to gentry women, the play undermines the language of romance, revealing it to be rooted in the commerce and commodification. Marston's commentary on financial insecurity and the hypocritical repudiation of foreignness makes The Dutch Courtesan truly a document for our time.