Order and Disorder, the first epic poem by an Englishwoman, has never before been available in its entirety. The first five cantos were printed anonymously in 1679, but fifteen further cantos remained in manuscript, probably because they were so politically sensitive. David Norbrook, widely recognized as a leading authority on Renaissance literature and politics, has now attributed the work to the republican, Lucy Hutchison. In this prestigious scholarly volume, he provides a wealth of editorial matter, along with the first full version of Order and Disorder ever to be published.

David Norbrook is Professor of English at the University of Maryland. His publications include Poetry and Politics in the English Renaissance (1984) and Writing the English Republic: Poetry, Rhetoric and Politics 1627-1660 (1999).