Antigone's Example

Mihoko Suzuki is Professor of English and Cooper Fellow in the Humanities Emerita, at the University of Miami, USA.

• Introduction: Antigone’s Example.- 1. Christine de Pizan’s Political Thought and Civil War.- 2. Female Subjects as Counselors to Queens: Anne Dowriche, Mary Sidney, Elizabeth Cary.- 3. Politics, History, and the Fronde: Motteville, Montpensier, Longueville, Nemours.- 4. Margaret Cavendish’s “French Connection” and Civil-War Political Writing.- 5. Post-Restoration Civil-War Writings: Katherine Philips, Aphra Behn, Jane Barker.- 6. Writing, Activism, and the French Revolution: Louise de Kéralio, Stéphanie de Genlis, Germaine de Staël.- Epilogue: Helen Maria Williams, Citizen of the World.

“Antigone’s Example provides an elegantly argued case for the merits of placing any body of writing within multiple broad contexts rather than limiting these by geography, genre, or gender. The civil wars and revolutions of the early modern period provided no woman with citizenship, but this did not stop them from entering the political arena in creative ways, with an eye across borders and toward both the past and future.” (Merry Wiesner- Hanks, Journal for Early Modern Cultural Studies, Vol. 23 (3-4), 2023) “This impressive book persuasively establishes the international political perspectives of early modern women writers and shows what can be gained by cross-cultural analysis of their lives and works.” (Martine van Elk, Modern Language Review, Vol. 119 (1), January, 2024)“Among its many contributions, I believe Antigone’s Example serves as a model for those who wish to engage with the history of women’s political writings. It would also be particularly useful for instructors who wish to include women in their courses related to the history of political thought. Suzuki’s work shows us that women’s contributions extend well beyond feminism ... .” (Mary Jo MacDonald, Politics & Gender, July 4, 2023) “Mihoko Suzuki’s Antigone’s Example: Early Modern Women’s Political Writing in Times of Civil War from Christine de Pizan to Helen Maria Williamsis the first sustained transcultural study of women’s political counsel in France and Britain from the fifteenth to the early nineteenth century. … Suzuki offers an impressive, capacious, and fascinating analysis of their important roles in defining and developing British and French politi­cal theory over a long and turbulent period.” (Catharine Gray, TSWL Tulsa Studies in Women's Literatur, Vol. 42 (2), 2023) “Antigone’s Example is an intellectually ambitious book … . In this theoretically rich and highly documented opus, straddling two national cultures, Suzuki gives her readers the necessary keys to understand complex and varied works, which should be read as major contributions to the European history of political thought.” (Claire Gheeraert-Graffeuille, Journal of Early Modern History, Vol. 27, (5), 2023)