Elizabeth of York (Queenship and Power) - Hardcover

Okerlund, A.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0230618278 ISBN 13: 9780230618275

Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009

Synopsis

This astute book examines the cultural implications of reactions to contemporary performances in which Richard II, Lear, Prospero, Bottom, Richard III, Petruchio, and Benedick were played by women. Elizabeth Klett argues that the critical uproar in the British press provoked by these performances signals a deep-seated anxiety about the status of Shakespeare within British culture. By dismissing, mocking, or railing against these women, reviewers inadvertently demonstrate the power of these productions to disrupt a series of established forms: mimetic theater, normative gender identity, Shakespearean authority, and English national identity. This book discusses the ways these women's performances are changing the British theater, inviting their audiences to think differently about Shakespeare, their nation, and themselves.

About this title

Review:

"This book is a welcome addition to the sparse literature about one of England's more dynastically important queens. Illuminating and fascinating." - Renaissance Quarterly
"Arlene Okerlund's lucid biography of Elizabeth of York draws on detailed research to provide a long overdue account of the tumultuous life of one of England's best loved queens. It is a compelling tale of Renaissance culture and ritual, intrigue and tragedy." - J. L. Laynesmith, Author of The Last Medieval Queens
'Arlene Naylor Okerlund's fine biography Elizabeth of York sheds important light on a largely forgotten figure who stood at the center of one of the most turbulent periods in English history... Written in an engaging, almost fictionlike style, this biography will have a broad appeal...It is unfortunate, however, that Elizabeth is so little remembered in her own right, but Arlene Naylor Okerlund's well-researched biography goes a long way toward remedying this historical shortcoming.' – The Journal of British Studies
"This work aims to rescue the queen from the perception that she was a merely marginal player in the establishment of the Tudor dynasty. Forced to negotiate complex family relationships while maintaining a loving relationship with her husband and king, Okerlund's Elizabeth emerges as a figure central to the accomplishments of the first Tudor court, so much so that her early death produced a catastrophe from which Henry never recovered. Okerlund's biography produces a lively narrative and a credible portrait of the queen's character together with a meticulous reassessment of the available evidence." - Gordon Kipling, Professor of English, University of California, Los Angeles, USA

Book Description:

The book draws on the author's impressive array of new research on Elizabeth

About this edition

• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0230618278
• ISBN 13: 9780230618275
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 285