Female communities, 1600-1800

"This collection of essays explores for the first time both fictional and actual visions by early modern women of female communities in Great Britain. These projections of ideal worlds speak of women's social and political impotence and are thus concerned with fundamental issues of power and access to knowledge and space. They are characterized by a utopian concept of community, bringing with it associations of sisterhood, support networks, female friendships and companionship, be they between sisters, queen and attendants, writers, readers, or lesbian lovers."--Jacket.