Biography in Early Modern France 1540-1630: Forms and Functions
Katherine MacDonald
Research Monographs in French Studies 23•14 November 2007
- ‘This useful monograph presents five case studies of Early Modern biographies (including one autobiography)... MacDonald's work frames these two well-known texts in such a way as to encourage continued investigation of Renaissance biography as a fully-fledged prose genre.’ — Forum for Modern Language Studies April 2009, 226)
- ‘The first perspective [in this book] situates biography as a genre belonging to antique epideictic rhetoric... The second is the narrative of what might be called the facts of biographical life... The third is what could be called a concetto, that is, the biographer's own life perspective, conscious or unconscious, in the biography he is writing. This is what really interests Katherine MacDonald, because of her own radical-individualist perspective on relations between the biographer and his subject.’ — Orest Ranum, Renaissance Quarterly 62, 2009, 229-31
- ‘Elegantly written, clearly argued, and erudite, this is a rewarding and thought-provoking book and a valuable contribution to the study of early modern French humanism.’ — Joan Davies, Modern Language Review 105.1, January 2010, 241-42 (full text online)
- ‘Interesting and original interpretations of biographies in which reading between the lines was every bit as important as the lines themselves.’ — John Lewis, French Studies 64.2, April 2010
- ‘An interesting and thought-provoking study which is well worth reading, albeit with a grain of salt.’ — Sarah Nelson, Biography 32.4, Fall 2009, 840-42
Memoirs of Mademoiselle de Montpensier (La Grande Mademoiselle)
Translated by P. J. Yarrow with the collaboration of William Brooks
New Translations 1•20 December 2010
- ‘This new version of Mademoiselle’s memoirs is particularly well-suited to undergraduate teaching as it highlights the Fronde, court life and manners, and the life of noble women in the seventeenth century. It also constitutes a valuable contribution to the history of sentiments and emotions.’ — Elise M. Dermineur, French History 30, 2016, 429-30
- ‘This volume is the first in an exciting series of new editions of classic works translated into English published by the Modern Humanities Research Association ... [T]his is a highly readable translation of an eminently readable memoir ... [It] provides an efficient, clean, easy to read and well-presented edition that will be quite useful for undergraduate teaching.’ — Jonathan Spangler, H-France 11, August 2011
- ‘This remarkable volume will appeal to a range of readers—amateurs d’histoire, undergraduates, or anglophone researchers seeking a vivid aperçu of courtly life in seventeenth-century France. It bodes well for the MHRA New Translations series, of which this is the first and as such sets a high standard indeed.’ — Juliette Cherbuliez, Modern Language Review 107, 2012, 1253-54 (full text online)
Teresa of Avila's Autobiography: Authority, Power and the Self in Mid-Sixteenth-Century Spain
Elena Carrera
Legenda (General Series) •4 February 2005
- ‘In sum, Carrera succeeds admirably in her goal of elucidating the textual models and controversies that underlie Teresa's religious practices and her self-presentation in Vida. She provides expert guidance through the theological maze...’ — Alison Parks Weber, Iberoamericana VI, 24, 2006, 213-15