The courtship and remarriage of a rich widow was a popular motif in early modern comic theatre. Jennifer Panek brings together a wide variety of texts, from ballads and jest-books to sermons and court records, to examine the staple widow of comedy in her cultural context and to examine early modern attitudes to remarriage. She persuasively challenges the critical tendency to see the stereotype of the lusty widow as a tactic to dissuade women from second marriages, arguing instead that it was deployed to enable her suitors to regain their masculinity, under threat from the dominant, wealthier widow. The theatre, as demonstrated by Middleton, Dekker, Beaumont and Fletcher and others, was the prime purveyor of a fantasy in which a young man's sexual mastery of a widow allowed him to seize the economic opportunity she offered.

Explores how widows were portrayed in early American culture, and how widows themselves created identities in response to their unique roles. Utilizing widows' wills, prescriptive literature, court appearances, newspaper advertisements and letters, the author analyzes how widows in colonial Massachusetts, South Carolina, and Maryland navigated their domestic, legal, economic, and community roles in early American society.

Cover Flap

In 1079, the Conqueror is critically wounded by Raynar in a skirmish at Gerberoi. With the Conqueror ill, Philip of France encourages rebellions against Norman rule. William placates Philip by choosing different sons to be the heirs of Normandy and of England. His favourite son Richard, is to be the next King of the English.

With William ill and rarely in England, Regent Odo and the rest of the Norman ruling class keep to the South. Raynar is in Scotland visiting Margaret when Northumbrian rebels kill the Bishop of Durham. In revenge Odo's army Harrows the North, yet again.

While King Henry is busy securing and rebuilding the West Country after the Category 5 hurricane of August 10th, 1103, Queen Edith must rule the palace and the court of England. With the help of Raynar, Countess Lucy, and Countess Maud, she moves the court from Winchester to Westminster.

About the Author

Skye Smith is my pen name. My ancestors were miners and shepherds near Castleton in the Peaks District of Derbyshire. I have been told by some readers that this series reminds them of Bernard Cornwell’s historical novels, and have always been delighted by the comparison.

This is the tenth of my Hoodsman series of books, and you should read the first “Killing Kings” before you read this book. All of the books contain two timelines linked by characters and places. The “current” story is set in the era of King Henry I in the 1100’s, while the longer “flashback” story is set in the era of King William I after 1066.

I have self-published twelve “The Hoodsman” historical-adventure novels and one Companion reference book for the series:

# - SubTitle
William I Timeline
Henry I Timeline

1. Killing Kings
1066 killing King Harald of Norway (Battle of Stamford Bridge)
1100 killing King William II of England. Henry claims the throne.

2. Hunting Kings
1066 hunting the Conqueror (Battle of Hastings Road)
1100 hunting Henry I (Coronation Charter)

3. Frisians of the Fens
1067/68 rebellions. Edgar Aetheling flees north with Margaret.
1100 amnesty and peace. Henry recruits English bowmen.

4. Saving Princesses
1068/69 rebellions. Margaret weds Scotland (Battle of Durham)
1100/01 Edith of Scotland weds Henry (Battle of Alton)

5. Blackstone Edge
1069/70 rebellions (The Harrowing of the North)
1101 peace while the economy is saved from the bankers

6. Ely Wakes
1070/71 Frisian rebellion (Battles of Ely and Cassel)
1101 Henry collects allies. Mary of Scotland weds Boulogne.

7. Courtesans and Exiles
1072/74 English lords flee abroad (Battle of Montreuil, Edgar surrenders)
1102 Henry collects allies (the honour of Boulogne)

8. The Revolt of the Earls
1075/76 Earls revolt (Battles of Worchester and Fagaduna)
1102 Earls revolt (Battles of Arundel, Bridgnorth, Shropshire)

9. Forest Law
1076/79 fighting Normans in France (London Burned, Battle of Gerberoi)
1103 fighting Normans in Cornwall (Battle of Tamara Sound)

10. Queens and Widows
1079/81 rebellions (Gateshead, Judith of Lens)
1103 Edith made Regent (Force 5 Hurricane)

11. Popes and Emperors
1081 Normans slaughter English exiles (Battle of Dyrrhachium)
1104 Henry visits Normandy (Duchy run by warlords)

12. The Second Invasion
1082/85 power vacuum, peaceful anarchy (Regent Odo arrested enroute to Rome)
1085/87 Re-invasion and Harrowing of all England (Battle of Mantes, Conqueror dies)
1104/05 Henry invades Normandy twice (Battle of Tinchebray)

Other Novels By The Same Author:

The Pistoleer – 9 historical adventures set in the English Civil War.

Maya’s Aura – 8 new age adventures while tripping around the world.

Knut – many historical adventures set in the Viking Era.

Imagine working for years at your " dream job" only to have it taken away from you suddenly. What if the Boss changed your job description from " partner and party planner" to permanent cubicle resident with no benefits or chance of reinstatement? That's what it is like to become a widow. People don't know how to talk to you anymore. They exclude you from conversations that might involve the mention of couples. They are uncomfortable Becoming a widow isnt like becoming a wife. Becoming a wife requires major planning. But becoming a widow is often a surprise, and even with advance planning some people are still stunned. Its difficult to prepare for widowhood. In Widows 101, author Susan Barber uses her personal experience with her husbands death to provide practical tips for surviving the death of a spouse. Delivered with a gentle, lighthearted approach, Widows 101 touches upon core elements widows will need to address after losing their husbands, such as remaking yourself and redefining what you want dealing with grief making adjustments in your personal and social life handling your spouses personal effects attending to the details of your new life alone communicating your wishes for your own funeral . Widows 101 helps you prepare for the changes in your life as you confront widowhood. Learn how to make the changes work for you instead of against you as you navigate one of lifes most difficult periods.

A new biography of William Shakespeare that explores his private life in Stratford-upon-Avon, his personal aspirations, his self-determination, and his relations with the members of his family and his neighbours. The Private Life of William Shakespeare tells the story of Shakespeare in Stratford as a family man. The book offers close readings of key documents associated with Shakespeare and develops a contextual understanding of the genres from which these documents emerge. It reconsiders clusters of evidence that have been held to prove some persistent biographical fables. It also shows how the histories of some of Shakespeare's neighbours illuminate aspects of his own life. Throughout, we encounter a Shakespeare who consciously and with purpose designed his life. Having witnessed the business failures of his merchant father, he determined not to follow his father's model. His early wedding freed him from craft training to pursue a literary career. His wife's work, and probably the assistance of his parents and brothers, enabled him to make the first of the property purchases that grounded his life as a gentleman. With his will, he provided for both his daughters in ways that were suitable to their circumstances; Anne Shakespeare was already protected by dower rights in the houses and lands he had acquired. His funerary monument suggests that the man of 'small Latin and less Greek' in fact had some experience of an Oxford education. Evidences are that he commissioned the monument himself.

Cover title: List of mothers and widows of American soldiers, sailors and marines entitled to make a pilgrimage to the war cemetaries in Europe.

From New York Times bestselling author Jeff Abbott’s, an uneasy alliance forms as two widows delve into their husbands’ deadly and dangerous secrets... Henry North is a down-on-his-luck cybersecurity expert from New Orleans. Adam Zhang is the cofounder of one of Austin’s most successful venture capitalist firms. These two men didn’t know each other. They had never met. Yet they died together, violently, in a place neither had any business being. When Henry doesn’t return from a business trip, his wife, Kirsten, panics – and then gets an anonymous phone call: 'Your husband is dead in Austin.' Flora knew Adam was keeping secrets from her. She suspected an affair, but had decided she could forgive him for his weakness – until her husband ended up dead. And with no explanation for her husband’s murder, the police begin to suspect her. Together, these two widows will face a powerful foe determined to write a false narrative about the murders. In doing so, neither Flora nor Kirsten will remain the women the world thought they were. An exceptional thriller from the million copy bestseller, showing the ends people will go to protect their own, perfect for fans of Linwood Barclay, Harlan Coben and Lisa Gardner.

Life After Death shows how representations of the widow in theeighteenth-century novel express attitudes toward emerging capitalismand women's participation in it. Authors responded to the century'sinstability by using widows, who had the right to act economically andself-interestedly, to teach women that virtue meant foregoing theopportunities that the changing economy offered. Novelists thus helpedto create expectations for women that linger today, and established thenovel as a cultural arbiter. The first study of widows in the developingnovel, Life After Death also takes the next step in merging genre, gender, and economic criticism