Women at the Early Modern Swedish Court

Persson Fabian :

Fabian Persson is a Lecturer in History at Linnaeus University in Sweden and currently a Visiting Scholar at the University of Oxford. He is a specialist on the history of the early modern court and also writes on patronage, corruption, élites, aristocratic marriage and duelling.

"The book looks at a broad range of women: foreign and Swedish, married and unmarried, those who stayed a short time at court and those who lived their lives there. Persson often contrasts the mutual experiences of these women to the hiearchical differences that divided them. He analyses where and when gender played a part in a nuanced way. [...] "That Persson does not just use structures to explain change is a strength. The personal and human is allowed much room in the book. These actors are not just power players or representatives of a group, an identity or a gender. They are also sensitive and complex human beings. Persson's depiction shows how personality and human relationships influenced the court and, as a consequence, history. To conclude, Women at the Early Modern Swedish Court provokes many thoughts, questions, and ideas. It is a rich, informative text built on enormous empirical work."
- Hedvig Widmalm, 1700-tal: Nordic Journal for Eighteenth-Century Studies, Vol. 18 (2021) [Translated from Swedish]

"The study displays a vast knowledge of the intricate early modern courtly life and showcases much material that previously has been overlooked. Women at the Early Modern Swedish Court: Power, Risk, and Opportunity paints a fascinating picture of early modern Swedish court through the lens of women’s agency, voices, and challenges."
- Johanna Vernqvist, Linköping University, Renaissance and Reformation / Renaissance et Réforme 44.2 (Spring 2021)