Women and Tudor Tragedy (Allyna Ward) - Book Review

Title: Women and Tudor Tragedy
Author: Allyna Ward
Country: Canada/US
Publisher: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press 

I met Allyna Ward at Booth University College (Winnipeg, MB) in 2010. She was an assistant professor who taught a number of English classes. I took Literary and Cultural Theory, University Writing,  and Representative Literary Works with her as my prof. Presently she is a Language Arts teacher in New Hampshire. She is quite an engaging and supportive person; one of the most well versed people in literature I have ever met. I have been excited to read and review her book Women and Tudor Tragedy, even though I'm well aware I can't do the remarkable work justice. 

Women and Tudor Tragedy investigates the link between gender and genre, identifying the relation between cultural history and mid-Tudor drama. The author provides a discussion of the role of women in early English tragedies and in a variety of texts by women.

Though Women and Tudor Tragedy is appealing to historians, sociologists and lit geeks alike, the book is not the easiest to get through if you are a novice on the subject matter. Getting into this literature on a whim is like trying to learn how to swim by starting in the Ocean. The book, like Allyna herself, is quite deep. Women and Tudor Tragedy would be most useful as the primary text used in an Honours level class. 

Note to Allyna: You should design a class around your book! I'd sign up! 

As a less than casual reader (I've been reading more books during the pandemic, but Post University I read very little) Women and Tudor Tragedy took a long time to get through. I would read a chapter, noting the many literature and historical references, then I'd read & research those (if applicable), then I'd re-read the chapter again with more understanding. Reading Allyna's book is a journey that will make one more adept in scholarly pursuits. This book is not one that can be skimmed over. 

Women and Tudor Tragedy is a book that belongs in the classroom, taught by a professor who is well versed in this subject matter. I feel that I have learned quite a lot from this book & am excited to do more research. I am very grateful for this Olympic sized swimming pool of knowledge that I was fortunate to read. 

Allyna Ward's book is quite a significant achievement; she reshapes our understanding of history by focusing our attention on the women who historians tend to under-represent. I love her contextualizing of English history & the dissection of religious, political & cultural practices in relation to the tragic works of art made during the period. 

A wealth of content, but is more suitable to scholars in a University setting than a casual reader