This fascinating collection is the first to gather together a wide variety of works by Spanish women writers of the Golden Age. In the fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth centuries, the cloister was a refuge for women with intellectual aspirations. A small percentage of women in religious orders put their writing skills to literary use, producing biographies of founding sisters, histories of their orders, and even poetry and theater. Most of these writings were never published, and only now are researchers beginning to unearth and transcribe them. Women Writers of Early Modern Spain features: Spanish texts by Oliva Sabuco de Nantes, María de Zayas, Ana Caro, Leonor de la Cueva, and many others; An introduction in Spanish to each reading, with biographical information, comments on the author's approach, an overview of pertinent criticism, and an analysis of the work; A generous English introduction to the volume, placing writing by early modern Spanish women within the broader context of European life and culture; Full footnotes and topics for discussion for each unit; A selected bibliography for readers who wish to pursue independent study.   .