Shakespeare, Spenser, and the Crisis in Ireland

List of illustrations; Acknowledgements; Introduction: Elizabeth's other isle; 1. Spenser's Irish courts; 2. Reversing the conquest: deputies, rebels and Shakespeare's 2 Henry VI; 3. Ireland, Wales and the representation of England's borderlands; 4. The Tyrone rebellion and the gendering of colonial resistance in 1 Henry VI; 5. 'A softe kind of warre': Spenser and the female reformation of Ireland; 6. 'If the Cause be not good': Henry V and Essex's Irish campaign; Notes; List of works cited; Index.

"In this insightful study Christopher Highley illuminates the complexities of the discourse on Ireland during the reign of Elizabeth... especially valuable to scholars of early modern colonialism is his reminder that colonial analogies may serve not only to further an imperial project but also to question and challenge it." Shakespeare Quarterly "Christopher Highley's erudite and scholarly new book,...is a welcome addition to Cambridge's exciting and innovative new Renaissance series. It will be of particular use to Spenser scholars for the obvious excellence of the comments on Spenser's work, but also for the measured comparisons made with Shakespeare's plays and the author's ability to compare Welsh and Irish material and so contextualize the debates surrounding attempts to unify the British Isles in the late sixteenth century. Highley has not only written a substantial monograph but he is also a generous enough scholar to make it easy for others to follow in his footsteps and explore his readings further." Andrew Hadfield, Spenser Newletter "...the entire study is admirably erudite and clear..." Bibliotheque D'Humanisme