631 Shakespeare's Sisters (with Ramie Targoff) | My Last Book with Sarah Gristwood

The History of Literature

Recently, we talked to novelist Jodi Picoult about her contention that many of the works commonly attributed to Shakespeare were actually written by a woman named Emilia Bassano (a.k.a. Aemilia Lanyer). But even as that compelling theory awaits definitive proof, we already know of several women - Shakespeare's contemporaries - who overcame obstacles and wrote their way through a male-dominated literary world. In this episode, Jacke talks to scholar Ramie Targoff (Shakespeare's Sisters: How Women Wrote the Renaissance) about the women who defied the odds and defined themselves as writers at a time when women were legally the property of men. PLUS Jacke talks to Sarah Gristwood (Secret Voices: A Year of Women's Diaries) about her choice for the last book she will ever read.

Help support the show at patreon.com/literature or historyofliterature.com/donate. The History of Literature Podcast is a member of Lit Hub Radio and the Podglomerate Network. Learn more at thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices