Writings of a Well-Learned Gentlewoman

The collected writings of Margaret More Roper, presented and annotated for classroom use.

Margaret More Roper (1505-44) was, at the age of nineteen, the first early modern woman writer in Tudor England and the first nonroyal woman to have a book printed in the English language. As the eldest daughter of Sir Thomas More, Roper received a cutting-edge education in Latin and Greek that was virtually unprecedented for a woman. Besides gaining an international reputation for her outstanding erudition, Roper served as More's confidante during his imprisonment. Her correspondence from this period offers valuable insight into a key moment in English history.

This Other Voice series edition recognizes Margaret More Roper as a notable historical figure in her own right and as one of the most learned women of her time. It publishes all her extant writings in modernized spelling, with annotations, a glossary, and a current bibliography of studies about her.