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.

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.

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