Books by Mary C. (Fordham University Erler

This book presents detailed biographical case studies of English religious men and women, and their reading and writing during the turbulent period around the Dissolution of the monasteries, often revealing a surprising interest in reform. It features the remarkable writings of Margaret Vernon, head of four nunneries and personal friend of Thomas Cromwell.

Through seven narratives of individual medieval women, prefaced by an overview of nuns' reading and of women who owned printed books, Mary Erler traces networks of female book ownership and exchange which have so far been obscure, and shows how women were responsible for both owning and circulating devotional books.