Presented in two volumes, The Ashgate Research Companion to The Sidneys, 1500-1700 assesses the current state of scholarship on members of the Sidney family and their impact, as historical and/or literary figures, in the period 1500-1700. Volume 2: Literature, begins with an exploration of the Sidneys' books and manuscripts and how they circulated, followed by an overview of the contributions of family members -Sir Philip Sidney; Mary Sidney Herbert, Countess of Pembroke; Lady Mary Wroth; Robert Sidney, Earl of Leicester; and William Herbert, Earl of Pembroke - in the genres of prose romance, drama, poetry, psalms and prose. These essays outline major controversies and areas for further research, as well as conducting literary analysis.

Contents: Preface; Part I Overview: The Sidneys and their books, Joseph L. Black. Part II The Sidneys and the Circulation of Their Works in Manuscript and Print: The circulation of the Sidney Psalter, Noel J. Kinnamon; The circulation of Sir Philip Sidney's Arcadia, H.R. Woudhuysen; The circulation of writings by Mary Sidney Herbert, Countess of Pembroke, Garth Bond; The circulation of writings by Lady Mary Wroth, Ilona Bell. Part III Prose Romance: Sir Philip Sidney's Arcadias, Kenneth Borris; Continuations and imitations of the Arcadia, Clare R. Kinney; Lady Mary Sidney Wroth: The Countess of Montgomery's Urania, Helen Hackett. Part IV Prose: Sir Philip Sidney: The Defence of Poesy, Robert E. Stillman; Tudor political theory and Sidneian prose, Joel B. Davis; Mary Sidney Herbert, Countess of Pembroke: A Discourse of Life and Death, Elaine V. Beilin. Part V Drama: Mary Sidney Herbert, Countess of Pembroke: Antonius (1592), Barry Weller; Lady Mary Wroth: Love's Victory, Alison Findlay. Part VI Poetry: Sir Philip Sidney: Astrophil and Stella, Danila Sokolov; Robert Sidney's poetry, Mary B. Moore; Lady Mary Wroth's poetry, Paul Salzman; The Poetry of William Herbert, Third Earl of Pembroke, Mary Ellen Lamb. Part VII Psalms: Sir Philip Sidney's psalms, Anne Lake Prescott; The psalms of Mary Sidney Herbert, Countess of Pembroke, Danielle Clarke; The influence of Sidney Psalter, Hannibal Hamlin. Part VIII Conclusion: Future directions for Sidney Studies, Mary Ellen Lamb. Index.