The noble Cavendishes were one of the most influential families in the politics and culture of early modern England and beyond. A Companion to the Cavendishes offers a comprehensive account of the Cavendish family's creative output and cultural significance in the seventeenth century. It discusses the writings of individuals including William and Margaret Cavendish, and William's daughters Jane and Elizabeth; family members' work and patronage in other media such as music, architecture, and the visual arts; their participation in contemporary developments in politics, philosophy, and horsemanship; and the networks in which they moved both in England and in continental Europe. It also covers the work of less well-known family members such as the poet and biographer George Cavendish and the composer Michael Cavendish. This volume combines path-breaking scholarship with discussion of existing research, making it an invaluable resource for all those interested in this fascinating and diverse group of men and women.
- Front Cover
- Half-title
- Series information
- Title page
- Dedication
- Copyright information
- Table of contents
- Table of Illustrations
- Acknowledgments
- Preface
- Chapter 1. Introduction
- Chapter 2. George Cavendish’s Historiographical Moment
- The Speaking Dead: George Cavendish, Thomas Churchyard, and Eidolopoeia
- Learning from the Past: Tudor Historiopoetics
- Comparing the Texts
- Tracing Influence
- Bibliography
- Chapter 3. Arbella, Oriana, .and the Music of Michael Cavendish (1565–1628)
- The Musical Context
- Michael Cavendish and Oriana
- Bibliography
- Chapter 4. The Cavendish Invention of Bolsover Castle
- Chapter 5. William Cavendish
- Chapter 6. William Cavendish and Elizabethan Nostalgia
- Chapter 7. The Cavendishes and Ben Jonson
- Ben Jonson
- Willliam Cavendish
- Jane Cavendish and Elizabeth Brackley
- Margaret Cavendish
- Bibliography
- Chapter 8. William Cavendish
- Virtue, Virtuosity, and Nobleness
- Political Pragmatism: Machiavellian Virtù
- When Fortune Turns Foul: Courtliness and Advice to an Exiled King
- “For Seremony & Order”:51 Chivalry and Queen Elizabeth’s Day
- Bibliography
- Chapter 9. Horses and Horsemanship in the Life of William Cavendish, Duke of Newcastle
- Chapter 10. Margaret Cavendish and the Cultural Milieu of Antwerp
- Chapter 11. Epicurus and Gender in the British Newcastle Circle
- Chapter 12. Jane Cavendish and Elizabeth Brackley’s Manuscript Collections
- Chapter 13. The Cavendishes and Their Poetry
- Chapter 14. The Closet as Form and Theme in Cavendish and Brackley’s The Concealed Fancies
- Chapter 15. Margaret Cavendish and War
- “The Sweetness of Peace … the Misery of War”6
- “Dividing of the Spoils”46
- Bibliography
- Chapter 16. Material and Political Nature in Margaret Cavendish’s The Unnatural Tragedy and The Blazing World
- Cavendish and Nature
- Material Nature
- Political Nature
- Nature in The Unnatural Tragedy and The Blazing World
- Bibliography
- Chapter 17. “I Am My Lords Scholar”
- Chapter 18. Margaret Cavendish and Julius Caesar
- Fame
- Valour
- Marriage and Gender
- Outcaesaring Caesar
- Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Chapter 19. Generic Bricolage and Epicureanism in Margaret Cavendish’s Imaginative Works
- Chapter 20. Cavendish and the Novel
- The Romancical
- The Philosophical
- The Fantastical
- Bibliography
- Chapter 21. The Devonshire Cavendishes
- “Family Was Everything”: Sons, Daughters, Stepchildren
- Bibliography
- Chapter 22. The Funeral Monuments of the Cavendish Family
- Index