Elizabeth Jane Weston : collected writings / edited and translated by Donald Cheney and Brenda M. Hosington ; with the assistance of D. K. Money.

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

The first modern edition and translation of the writings of the Neo-Latin poet Elizabeth Jane Weston (c. 1581-1612). Sheds new light on the possibilities of artistic self-representation available to women at the end of the 16th century.

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CHOICE Review

Until recently, the name Elizabeth Jane Weston was all but unknown even among specialists in Renaissance literature. Furthermore, as her name began to gain currency few readers had access to her work, and Weston remained a curious phenomenon: a woman who was one of the few Renaissance English writers (of either gender) to enjoy a truly international reputation in her lifetime. She was known as "virgo Angla" (the "English maiden"), even though she spent most of her life in Bohemia and wrote in Latin. This splendid translation enables a generation of scholars with little or no Latin to begin assessing Weston. Cheney and Hosington opted for a "literal" translation, a wise move, especially for a first modern edition. Spot-checking reveals the translation to be reliable and scrupulous; Latin and English usefully face each other. The short introduction provides both a biography and an account of Weston in the context of neo-Latin literature (though the latter lacks a discussion of the quality and features of Weston's Latin, which will keep non-Latinists at bay). All in all, however, Cheney and Hosington have produced a major work on a woman who once was, and through their efforts may just possibly become again, a writer of major importance. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty. P. Cullen; emeritus, CUNY Graduate Center and College of Staten Island