The noble Cavendishes were one of the most influential families in the politics and culture of early modern England and beyond. A Companion to the Cavendishes offers a comprehensive account of the Cavendish family's creative output and cultural significance in the seventeenth century. It discusses the writings of individuals including William and Margaret Cavendish, and William's daughters Jane and Elizabeth; family members' work and patronage in other media such as music, architecture, and the visual arts; their participation in contemporary developments in politics, philosophy, and horsemanship; and the networks in which they moved both in England and in continental Europe. It also covers the work of less well-known family members such as the poet and biographer George Cavendish and the composer Michael Cavendish. This volume combines path-breaking scholarship with discussion of existing research, making it an invaluable resource for all those interested in this fascinating and diverse group of men and women.
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
Lisa Hopkins is Professor of English at Sheffield Hallam University and co-editor of Shakespeare, the journal of the British Shakespeare Association, of the Arden Early Modern Drama Guides, and of Arden Studies in Early Modern Drama.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter 1. Introduction: The Cavendish Family, Lisa Hopkins Chapter 2. George Cavendish’s Historiographical Moment, Gavin Schwartz-Leeper Chapter 3. Arbella, Oriana and the Music of Michael Cavendish (1565-1628), Keith Green Chapter 4. The Cavendish Invention of Bolsover Castle, Crosby Stevens Chapter 5. William Cavendish: Amateur Professional Playwright, Matthew Steggle Chapter 6. William Cavendish and Elizabethan Nostalgia, Richard Wood Chapter 7. The Cavendishes and Ben Jonson, Tom Rutter Chapter 8. William Cavendish: Virtue, Virtuosity and the Image of the Courtier, Rachel Willie Chapter 9. Horses and horsemanship in the life of William Cavendish, Duke of Newcastle, Elaine Walker Chapter 10. Margaret Cavendish and the Cultural Milieu of Antwerp, James Fitzmaurice Chapter 11. Epicurus and Gender in the British Newcastle Circle: Charleton, Hobbes and Margaret Cavendish, Lisa Walters Chapter 12. Jane Cavendish and Elizabeth Brackley’s Manuscript Collections, Sara Mueller Chapter 13. The Cavendishes and Their Poetry, Hero Chalmers Chapter 14. The Closet as Form and Theme in Cavendish and Brackley’s The Concealed Fancies, Daniel Cadman Chapter 15. Margaret Cavendish and War, Catie Gill Chapter 16. Material and Political Nature in Margaret Cavendish’s The Unnatural Tragedy and The Blazing World, Andrew Duxfield Chapter 17. “I am my Lords Scholar”: Margaret Cavendish and Patronage, Lisa Sarasohn Chapter 18. Margaret Cavendish and Julius Caesar, Domenico Lovascio Chapter 19. Generic Bricolage and Epicureanism in Margaret Cavendish’s Imaginative Works, Line Cottegnies Chapter 21. The Devonshire Cavendishes: Politics and Place, Sue Wiseman Chapter 22. The Funeral Monuments of the Cavendish Family, Eva Lauenstein