Credit: David Spender, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

A 17th-century poet finds scandal and independence through her writing, and four centuries later, inspires a young literary scholar to declare her own independence. 

Deep in the archives of Wilton House a young scholar makes a once-in-a-career discovery: previously unknown fragments written by 17th-century poet and author Lady Mary Wroth, the niece of Sir Philip Sidney. Despite her mentor’s advice to focus on male authors, the scholar has enclosed the manuscript of her first publication—a scholarly edition of the fragments—and asks for his feedback. The fragments that follow sketch Lady Mary’s journey to artistic and personal independence, moving out of the shadow of her famous uncle and her cousin, with whom she carries on a secret affair. Ultimately, it’s the story of two women’s bid for freedom, as the scholar declares her independence from her mentor in her footnotes and comments.

Forthcoming Spring 2027, Regal House Publishing

In Progress…