This is the first study to reconstruct the political origins of English women's poetry between the execution of Charles I and the death of Queen Anne. Carol Barash's book shows that, between Katherine Philips (1632-1664) and Anne finch, Countess of Winchilsea (1661-1720), and English women's poetic tradition developed as part of the larger political shifts in these years and particularly in women's fascination with the figure of the female monarch. Writers discussed include Aphra Behn, Katherine Philips, Anne Killigrew, Jane Barker, and Anne Finch.