Anne, Lady Bacon : a life in letters
Publisher
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Anne, Lady Bacon (c.1S2B-1610) is chiefly remembered as the translator of
several important religious texts and as the mother of Francis and Anthony
Bacon. This thesis seeks to re-evaluate her fulfilment of her role as a mother,
translator and religious patron through an examination of her correspondence
and an assessment of her published works. In doing so it demonstrates that
Anne was adept at utilising epistolary conventions in order to achieve her
politico-religious aims, and was far more capable at negotiating complex webs
of power than has hitherto been acknowledged.
Over one hundred of her letters survive, most of which are written to Anthony
between the 1592 and 1596, and only a few of which have been published. I
have transcribed all these extant letters, and through a close analysis of their
content and material construction I offer an outline of her epistolary habits, and
demonstrate how her letter-writing practice was influenced by the practical
elements of sixteenth-century epistolary culture. I describe the factors that
influenced Anne's relationship with her sons, and analyse how both parties
performed or neglected their duties.
The second half of my thesis focuses on Anne's religious patronage. I
describe the iconographic significance of the female translator, and examine
Anne's contribution to the nascent Protestant literary culture. Faced with a
political climate that was becoming increasingly hostile to expressions of nonconformity,
I look at how Anne harnessed other means by which to support the
puritan cause, and assess the extent to which she directed the religious tenor of
her local parishes.
Authors
Mair, Katherine AliceCollections
- Theses [4235]