The Letters of Sir Robert Sidney to Barbara Gamage Sidney

FAIN: FB-38358-03

Noel J. Kinnamon
Mars Hill College (Mars Hill, NC 28754-9134)

No project description available

Associated Products

Domestic Politics and Family Absence: The Correspondence (1588-1621) of Robert Sidney, First Earl of Leicester, and Barbara Gamage Sidney, Countess of Leicester (Book)
Title: Domestic Politics and Family Absence: The Correspondence (1588-1621) of Robert Sidney, First Earl of Leicester, and Barbara Gamage Sidney, Countess of Leicester
Editor: Noel Kinnamon
Editor: Margaret Hannay
Editor: Michael Brennan
Abstract: Though all but three of Robert Sidney's 332 extant letters to his wife Barbara Gamage Sidney have been in the Sidney family archive, they have never previously been fully transcribed or edited. This edition of the surviving letters, which Sidney wrote to his wife when they were separated for long periods by his official duties at various continental locations, provides a wealth of information about the Sidneys' family life. They touch on matters such as family illnesses, the children's education, court gossip, finances, and the construction of additions to Penshurst Place, the seat of the Sidney family. The letters also offer an extraordinary record of an early-modern English household in which the wife was entrusted with the overall responsibility for the well-being of her family, and for managing a large estate in the absence of her husband. Sidney's letters show that, although his union with the wealthy Welsh heiress Barbara Gamage may have been engineered primarily for political and financial ends, clearly the couple enjoyed a happy and loving marriage. Their correspondence is full of endearments, and Robert frequently tells his wife how much he misses her and their beloved children, including his 'Malkin,' later Lady Mary Wroth. The volume includes an introduction and notes by the editors. It also includes contextual materials such as relevant sections on family matters from letters to Robert from his trusted agent, Rowland Whyte; and from Robert Sidney's own business correspondence. The introduction specifically addresses the issue of Barbara's literacy, within the broader context of late-Elizabethan women's literacy.
Year: 2005
Primary URL: http://www.worldcat.org/title/domestic-politics-and-family-absence-the-correspondence-1588-1621-of-robert-sidney-first-earl-of-leicester-and-barbara-gamage-sidney/oclc/56104053&referer=brief_results
Primary URL Description: WorldCat
Publisher: Ashgate
Type: Edited Volume
ISBN: 0754606007

Prizes

Homorable Mention: Josephine Roberts Award for the Best Scholarly Edition published in 2005
Date: 11/10/2006
Organization: Society for the Study of Early Modern Women
Abstract: See name of prize.

Domestic politics and family absence : the correspondence (1588 1621) of Robert Sidney, first Earl of Leicester, and Barbara Gamage Sidney (Book)
Title: Domestic politics and family absence : the correspondence (1588 1621) of Robert Sidney, first Earl of Leicester, and Barbara Gamage Sidney
Author: Kinnamon, Noel J.
Primary URL: https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=9780754606000
Primary URL Description: WorldCat entry
Publisher: Burlington, VT
Type: Single author monograph
ISBN: 9780754606000

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