Machiavelli in the British Isles

Alessandra Petrina is Professor of English Literature at the Università di Padova, Italy. She has published The Kingis Quair of James I of Scotland (1997) and Cultural Politics in Fifteenth-century England. The Case of Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester (2004).

• Machiavelli's Principe and its early appearance in the British Isles. English manuscript translations. The burgess humanist: a life of William Fowler. The Fowler translation: the state of the manuscripts. The Queen's College translation: the state of the manuscript. A critical reading and commentary on the translations.

'Petrina's study of Machiavelli's early reception and translation in Renaissance England and Scotland represents a major advance in our understanding of the role played by Italian culture in the British Isles.' William J. Connell, Seton Hall University, USA ’[Petrina has] meticulously reconstruct[ed] the history of the circulation of The Prince, tracking down all known editions and manuscripts as well as all references to lost manuscripts, partial drafts, and mysterious allusions. Leaving no stone unturned, she has examined editions, fragments, dedications, title pages, and marginalia [...] producing, as a result, an example of intellectual history and philological scholarship at its best.’ Renaissance Quarterly '... gathers together so much finely researched information on the wide circle of acquaintances and subjects that William Fowler was involved with... this book deserves, and will surely gain, a wide readership in early modern studies and amongst students of the northern Renaissance in particular.' Journal of Northern Renaissance 'This book is an excellent scholarly analysis of the impact of Machiavelli's The Prince in England and Scotland in the sixteenth century... [Petrina] throws light on Machiavelli's moral neutrality showing in the process how this was often misinterpreted as immorality. The text is well-annotated throughout and the book contains an exhaustive bibliography. It is a fine contribution to the new Ashgate Renaissance Studies Series.' Journal of Anglo-Italian Studies 'The editorial work could scarcely have been better accomplished; and Petrina moreover provides a substantial introduction surveying Machiavelli's early reception in England and Scotland, the surviving English manuscript translations of Il principe, and what is known of William Fowler's diplomatic and literary career. There is a careful discussion of the state of the relevant manuscripts in Edinburgh and Queen's College Oxford, followed by an illuminating critical readin