Monday, April 07, 2008

Question from Briar - Women in the English Civil War

[Most of these questions are a little past our time period, but I was hoping someone might be able to recommend some resources -- I'm hopeless when it comes to the English Civil War!]

Hi my name is briar and im studying seventh form history at school. Im doing a research internal that has me looking for information on woman during the civil war?

The questions i have been asked to research are:
How were woman portrayed during the period 1558-1667?
What roles did woman assume during the civil war?
What lasting impact did the gains made by woman during the Civil War have and how did society view this?

Any information would be greatly appreciated.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Adrian Tinniswood's biography of the Verney family is a very accessible read, following a family (through their letters) from the 1620s to the 1670s. This family alone (with members of both royalist and parliamentarian sympathies) makes for a good slice of history and should have a good bibliography. Also, look up the Cavendish family: William, Earl, then Duke of Newcastle. He and his daughters (as well as his second wife Margaret, a writer in her own right,)each participated in the wars in many ways. Try Lucy Worseley's bio, and maybe even the biography written by Margaret Cavendish, as it includes the family's experiences in the wars.
--kate

arthurchappell said...

Lady Antonia Frazer's The Weaker Vessel is a very detailed book on wonmen in the 17th century andthe Civil War Period, there are several biographies of Queen Henrietta Maria (wife of Charles 1st), and Alison Plowden's Women All On Fire also looks atthe role of women in the conflict - There was the Countess Of Derby who held out at a siege on her home, Lathom House for much of the war,