The daughters of the first Earl of Cork
Subtitle: writing family, faith, politics and place
By: Ann-Maria Walsh
Publisher: Four Courts Press
Published: 2020
Place of publication: Dublin
Language: eng
Number of pages: 178
ISBN-13: 9781846827983
Subjects: Correspondence; Family; English prose literature; Women authors; History and criticism; Upper class women; History; Families
Description: "Based on the recovery and analysis of the letters and private papers of the wife, daughters, daughters-in-law, and granddaughters of Richard Boyle (1566-1643), first earl of Cork, this book examines how these women perceived and wrote their lives as individuals and as members of their famous family. The book explores the theme of identity through close readings of the extant texts from a number of perspectives: the figuration of Ireland; gender; the impact of civil war rupture; Protestantism; and legacy-making. This original showcasing of the Boyle women's largely forgotten female-voiced texts further illuminates how these women used the occasion of family writing and record-keeping to develop self-presentation strategies that allowed them to situate their lives at the centre of the transformations that were taking place in early modern Ireland and Britain." --
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Place and identity; title: Stages of womanhood and the gendered experience; title: Women writing war; title: Protestant piety: practice and expression; title: Legacy-making and remembering a life.