The Trials of Frances Howard: Fact and Fiction at the Court of King James

by David Lindley

Overview

David Lindley re-examines the murder trials of Frances Howard and the historical representations of her as 'wife, a witch, a murderess and a whore', challenging the assumptions that have constructed her as a model of female villainy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781135082239
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	08/21/2013
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	256
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

David Lindley

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Introduction; Chapter 2 The first trial: An arranged marriage; Chapter 3 Interlude: Filling in the blanks; Chapter 4 The second trial: Seeking an annulment; Chapter 5 Interlude: Celebration; Chapter 6 The third trial: Murder;

Editorial Reviews

Examines the historical evidence and cultural assumptions influencing the perception of Frances Howard, radically challenging the assumptions which have construed her as a deviant woman and raising questions about how women were perceived in the 17th century and how society judges women today. For scholars of 17th-century England. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

Booknews

'This is an acute, scrupulous, and at times disturbing analysis of the Overbury affair.' - Charles Nicholl, Times Literary Supplement

'His interdisciplinary approach, the new questions he has asked of family sources, and his recovery of neglected ones combine to make The Trials of Frances Howard the most stimulating and scholarly study yet published in the Overbury scandal.' - Alastair Bellany, The Huntingdon Library Quarterly

'By laying out for us the comment on one extraordinary woman [Lindley] sheds brilliant light how all women were perceived in early modern England.' - Diarmaid MacCulloch, New Statesman

'A spendid piece of cultural history, subtle, scholarly and very well written.' - The Observer

From the Publisher