Book excerpt: The most important woman writer of Elizabethan England, Mary Sidney produced innovative poems, with complex metres, while promoting the legacy of her brother Sir Philip Sidney. The Sidneys were influenced by Continental writers, seeking to bring new forms, techniques and themes to England. Her most celebrated work is a metric translation of the ‘Book of Psalms’, completing a project her brother had started. Winning the admiration of Jonson, Donne and Milton, Mary Sidney’s poetry employs numerous verse forms, significant for metrical variety, as well as graceful content. Recent scholarship has re-evaluated her literary achievements, revealing how influential she was for future women writers. The Delphi Poets Series offers readers the works of literature’s finest poets, with superior formatting. This volume presents Mary Sidney’s complete works, with related illustrations and the usual Delphi bonus material. (Version 1) * Beautifully illustrated with images relating to Mary Sidney’s life and works * Concise introduction to her life and poetry * Includes Mary Sidney’s complete works — first time in digital publishing * Excellent formatting of the poems * Rare poems digitised here for the first time, including ‘Our Saviour’s Passion’ * Easily locate the poems you want to read * The complete ‘Book of Psalms’, including Sir Philip Sidney’s ‘Psalms’ * Mary Sidney’s two major translations * Features a bonus biography — discover the poet’s incredible life * Ordering of texts into chronological order and literary genres CONTENTS: The Life and Poetry of Mary Sidney Brief Introduction: Mary Sidney A Dialogue between Two Shepherds, Thenot and Piers (1595) The Dolefull Lay of Clorinda (1595) Even Now That Care (1599) To the Angel Spirit of the Most Excellent Sir Philip Sidney (1599) To the Angel Spirit of the Most Excellent Sir Philip Sidney — Variant Text (1599) Book of Psalms (1599) Triumph of Death (1600) by Petrarch Our Saviour’s Passion (1865) The Letter Countess of Pembroke’s Letter to Queen Elizabeth (1601) The Translations A Discourse of Life and Death (1592) by Philippe de Mornay Antonius (1592) by Robert Garnier The Biography Mary Herbert, Countess of Pembroke (1900) by Sidney Lee