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In 16th and 17th century England conversation was an embodied act that held the capacity to negotiate, manipulate and transform social relationships. Early Modern Women in Conversation illuminates the extent to which gender shaped conversational interaction and demonstrates the significance of conversation as a rhetorical practice for women.

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Acknowledgements List of Abbreviations Note on Texts and References Introduction Beyond the Humanist Dialogue: The Textual Conversations of Early Modern Women PART I: GENDERING CONVERSATION AND SPACE IN EARLY MODERN ENGLAND ´Intercourses of Friendship´: Gender, Conversation, and Social Performance Markets and Thresholds: Conversation as Spatial Practice PART II: THE SIDNEYS IN CONVERSATION Speaking to God with ´a cloven tongue´: The Sidney-Pembroke Psalter Conversational Games and the Articulation of Desire in Mary Wroth´s Love´s Victory and Shakespeare´s Love´s Labour´s Lost PART III: THE CAVENDISHES IN CONVERSATION ´The language of friendship and conversation´: Jane Cavendish and Elizabeth Brackley´s Conversational Alliances The Civil Conversations of Margaret Cavendish and Ben Jonson Conclusion Notes Works Cited Index

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"Larson demonstrates how women are engaged with contemporary conversational theories, blurred the lines between oral and written exchanges, and manipulated the boundaries of conversational spaces. ... Larson´s volume is an important contribution to the existing literature on women´s writing, and deserves to be read widely by scholars interested in the early modern period more generally." (Emilee K. M. Murphy, Renaissance Quarterly, Vol. 69 (3), 2016)

"...Larson´s book takes us into the virtual spaces of women´s conversation..." Elizabeth Scott-Baumann, Times Literary Supplement

"Katherine Larson´s deceptively simple title merely hints at the intellectual riches contained within her eloquent unfolding of an intriguing early modern construct Larson´s intriguing account of conversation situates it centrally within the familial and social communities associated with a group of prominent early modern women writers. Her historically and theoretically astute volume promises to enliven many scholarly conversations on related topics. One hopes that her skilful dialogue will engage readers both within and separate from the study of early female authors. Her insights deserve to be shared with a wide audience." Sheila T. Cavanagh, Sidney Journal

"Larson is acutely aware of the ramifications of space and time as well as the impact of humanism and early modern theories of dialogue, so that while her analyses provide illuminating insights into the works of the writers considered, they also contribute to a wider understanding of the early modern discourse of conversation." Marion Wynne-Davies, Early Modern Women: An Interdisciplinary Journal

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Katherine R. Larson is Associate Professor of English at the University of Toronto, Canada.

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