{"product_id":"the-convent-of-pleasure-and-other-plays-9780801861000","title":"The Convent of Pleasure and Other Plays","description":"\u003cp\u003eMargaret Cavendish, Duchess of Newcastle (1623-1673), until recently remembered more as a flamboyant eccentric than as a serious writer, was in fact the most prolific, thought-provoking, and original woman writer of the Restoration. Cavendish is the author of many poems, short stories, biographies, memoirs, letters, philosophical and scientific works (including \u003ci\u003eThe Description of a New World, Called The Blazing World, \u003c\/i\u003e the first work of science fiction by a woman), and nineteen plays.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003ci\u003e\"The Convent of Pleasure\" and Other Plays\u003c\/i\u003e collects four of Cavendish's dramatic works that are among the most revealing of her attitudes toward marriage and her desire for fame. \u003ci\u003eLoves Adventures\u003c\/i\u003e (1662) centers on a woman succeeding in war and diplomacy by passing as a man. Similarly, the heroine of \u003ci\u003eBell in Campo\u003c\/i\u003e (1662) rescues her husband at the head of an army of women in this tale of a marriage of near equals. \u003ci\u003eThe Convent of Pleasure\u003c\/i\u003e (1668) proposes a separatist community of women and has received attention for its suggestion of lesbian sexuality. \u003ci\u003eThe Bridals\u003c\/i\u003e (1662), a more typical restoration comedy satirizing marriage, rounds out the collection.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEdited with notes and annotation by Anne Shaver, \u003ci\u003e\"The Convent of Pleasure\" and Other Plays\u003c\/i\u003e also contains a timeline, biography and bibliography of the Duchess, an appreciation of Cavendish's life and work, and a bibliography of critical essays. Also included are all of Cavendish's epistles \u003ci\u003eTo the Reader\u003c\/i\u003e as well as \u003ci\u003eOther Preliminary Matter from Playes\u003c\/i\u003e (1662), and Cavendish's original preface to \u003ci\u003ePlays Never Before Printed\u003c\/i\u003e (1668). A valuable collection from an extraordinary writer, \u003ci\u003e\"The Convent of Pleasure\" and Other Plays\u003c\/i\u003e raises important issues about women and gender.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAnne Shaver\u003c\/b\u003e is Lorena Woodrow Burke Professor of English at Denison University in Granville, Ohio.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Johns Hopkins University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50523750301970,"sku":"9780801861000","price":31.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_1dff5272-52f8-4ea2-9e7c-3890e35132df.jpg?v=1731167094","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-convent-of-pleasure-and-other-plays-9780801861000","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}