Pirates, Traitors, and Apostates: Renegade Identities in Early Modern English Writing

by Laurie Ellinghausen

Overview

Examining tales of notorious figures in Renaissance England, including the mercenary Thomas Stukeley, the Barbary corsair John Ward, and the wandering adventurers the Sherley brothers, Laurie Ellinghausen sheds new light on the construction of the early modern renegade and its depiction in English prose, poetry, and drama during a period of capitalist expansion.

Unlike previous scholarship which has focused heavily on positioning rogue behaviour within the dialogue of race, gender, religion, and nationalism, Pirates, Traitors, and Apostates: Renegade Identities in Early Modern England shows how domestic issues of class and occupation exerted a major influence on representations of renegades, and heightened their appeal to the diverse audiences of early modern England. By looking at renegade tales from this perspective, Ellinghausen reveals a renegade, who, despite being stigmatized as an outsider, becomes a major profiteer during the period of early expansion, and ultimately a key figure in the creation of a national English identity.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781487515799
Publisher:	University of Toronto Press
Publication date:	01/18/2018
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	220
File size:	5 MB

About the Author

Laurie Ellinghausen is an associate professor in the Department of English at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

Table of Contents

1. "Unquiet Hotspurs": Stukeley, Vernon, and the Renegade
2. "We are of the Sea!": Masterless Identity and Transnational Context in A Christian Turned Turk
3. "lend us your lament": Purser and Clinton on the Scaffold
4. "extravagant thoughts": The Sherley Brothers and the Future of Renegade England
5. "skillful in their art": Criminal Biography and the Renegade Inheritance

What People are Saying About This

Michelle M. Dowd

"Laurie Ellinghausen's excellent book　Pirates, Traitors, and Apostates　makes a significant contribution to scholarship on the early British Empire by bringing a shrewd analysis of social relations to bear on representations of England's emerging global economy. Ellinghausen's assertion that renegades such as pirates and traitors need to be understood through domestic ideologies of class and social mobility is fresh and compelling, and her study will be of great value to a wide range of early modern scholars, including those interested in Renaissance drama, travel literature, class and the economy, affect studies, and globalization."

Editorial Reviews

‘Ellinghausen’s study is driven by a combination of contemporary affect and early modern humoural theories.’

—Grace Moore, TLS July 20 2018

" Pirates, Traitors, and Apostates engages with lively and interesting material and offers a fruitful interpretation of the figure of the renegade in early modern literature."

—Katherine Acheson, University of Waterloo, University of Toronto Quarterly: Letters in Canada 2018

"Laurie Ellinghausen's excellent book　 Pirates, Traitors, and Apostates　makes a significant contribution to scholarship on the early British Empire by bringing a shrewd analysis of social relations to bear on representations of England’s emerging global economy. Ellinghausen’s assertion that renegades such as pirates and traitors need to be understood through domestic ideologies of class and social mobility is fresh and compelling, and her study will be of great value to a wide range of early modern scholars, including those interested in Renaissance drama, travel literature, class and the economy, affect studies, and globalization."

—Michelle M. Dowd, Hudson Strode professor of English, The University of Alabama

From the Publisher

"Pirates, Traitors, and Apostates engages with lively and interesting material and offers a fruitful interpretation of the figure of the renegade in early modern literature."

University of Toronto Quarterly: Letters in Canada 2018 - Katherine Acheson

'Ellinghausen's study is driven by a combination of contemporary affect and early modern humoural theories.'

TLS July 20 2018 - Grace Moore