In a bold and brilliantly persuasive series of moves, Lorna Hutson draws upon new historicist and feminist theories to examine closely Renaissance literature and the cultural impact of the humanist project.

The Usurer's Daughter:

* provides startling new readings of Shakespeare

* takes an entirely new approach to classical scholarship

* focuses attention on the central importance of the history of the representation of women

* illuminates how social relations between men were textualised during the early modern period.