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.