'Breathtaking in its knowledge and dazzling in its analysis, The Renaissance of Lesbianism shows us how female same-sex desires become not only legible but pivotal during the course of the English Renaissance. Traub's brilliant readings of sexual representation, both in early modern texts and in the scholarly imagination today, turn the screw of interpretation on figures from Queen Elizabeth to Katherine Philips and on topics from terminology to teleology. This synthesis of 'theory' and 'history' sets a new standard for lesbian scholarship and opens new paths for studying both sexuality and early modernity.' Susan Lanser, Brandeis University