This landmark bilingual Dutch-English anthology introduces women’s writing in the Low Countries from 1200 to 1875 through a variety of texts characterised by the religious, social, political and feminist engagement of their authors, as well as their extraordinary artistic achievement. Dutch and Flemish female writers produced work of ardent religious passion, ranging from medieval mysticism through the scathing anti-Reformation polemic to pious Anabaptist reflections. Other writers addressed current social and political debates or demonstrated fierce feminist engagement. Talented authors made important contributions to established genres such as the sonnet and the social novel or introduced new ones, like the epistolary novel. This invaluable volume, the first of its kind, explores and illustrates women’s historical involvement in the literary world of the Low Countries, their opportunities and hindrances, and the experiences, which found their way into women’s texts.

Table of Contents:
Preface and Acknowledgments, 1. Women’s Writing from the Low Countries 1200-1575, 2. Women’s Writing from the Low Countries 1575-1875, 3. Conclusion, Anthology, 1. The Daring Flight of a Soaring Bird, 2. The Agony and the Ecstasy of Divine Love, 3. Inspired and Resolute, 4. An Urban Anchoress, 5. ‘As Sister Souken was wont to say…’, 6. ‘Some say that this book was written by a woman named Christine’, 7. Recording Practical Experience for Posterity, 8. What Every Midwife Needs to Know, 9. ‘Just Like a Rose in Bloom’, 10. Word as Weapon in a Holy Mission, 11. Adamant Voices from Prison: Female Anabaptists, 12. The Gift of Beautiful Words, 13. A Blind Guide, 14. A Model of Godly Reformed Womanhood, 15. A Staunch Catholic, 16. Poetic Wit and Self-Deprecation, 17. The Truest of Friends, 18. Choosing the Better Part, 19. Obstinately Pursuing Her Own Course, 20. Uncommon Communal Songs from the Brussels Beguinage, 21. Anchoress and Autobiographer, 22. Contesting the Laurel Crown, 23. Opportunities for Women in the Chambers of Rhetoric, 24. A Life of Books, 25. Courageous and Broad-Minded, 26. Strong and Independent, 27. The Mystical Songs of an Ambitious ‘Spiritual Daughter’, 28. Unorthodox in Everything, 29. Victim of Distortive Editing, 30. A Pietist Autobiography, 31. Poet for the Love of Her Country, 32. The Epitome of an Enlightenment Woman, 33. At the Heart of a Student Poetry Society, 34. The Unknown International Bestselling Author, 35. Fast Friends, 36. Writing as a Way of Life, 37. Rural Idylls, 38. Love, Death and Suffering, 39. A Blind Beacon, 40. A Manly Spirit in a Sickly Body, 41. A Pioneer of Girls’ Education, 42. Good Cheer at the Beguinage in Lier, 43. The Dutch Joan of Arc, 44. An Everyday Patriot, 45. Female Psychology, 46. Social Criticism from the Belgian Beecher Stowe, 47. Competing with the Best, 48. A Versatile Pen, 49. A Witty Pioneer of Realism, 50. A Superb Duo, Bibliography, Index of Names and Subjects, Index of Titles and First Lines, Illustrations, Notes on the Editors, Contributors and Translators