Gender, Interpretation, and Political Rule in Sidney's Arcadia

Touching on a daunting array of issues about early modern women as readers and writers of romance, DeZur (StateUniv. of New York College of Technology at Delhi) focuses on depictions of royal women as targets--and occasionally agents of--verbal seduction, not only in Sir Philip Sidney's Arcadia (as her title suggests) but also in some of its literary progeny. Four chapters treating the individual works follow a pair of background chapters on women as rulers and as readers. These works include Sidney's original manuscript version of The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia; the radically revised version published in 1593 under the auspices of the countess herself, Philip's sister Mary; The Countess of Montgomery's Urania (1621) written by his niece, Lady Mary Wroth; and Anna Weamys's A Continuation of Sir Philip Sidney's Arcadia (1651). DeZur's linking of queenship to discourses about housewifery, and discussion of the lesser-known Weamys, will particularly interest scholars. Summing Up: Recommended. For comprehensive collections serving graduate students and researchers. CHOICE