Rivall Friendship, by Bridget Manningham

The manuscript forRivallFriendshipwas first acquired by the Newberry Libraryin1937.At the timeof the acquisition,the authorof this seventeenth-century romancewasanonymous. Scholar JeanR.Brink nowsuggests, based ondating of the manuscript andheranalysis of itsfeministthemes, that the author was a woman.Specifically,Brinkattributesthe text toBridget Manningham, whowas the older sister of Thomas Manningham, a Jacobean and Caroline bishop, and the granddaughter of John Manningham,adiarist who recorded performances of Shakespeare's plays. RivallFriendshipis apost-EnglishCivil War romancethatexamines proto-feminist issues, such as patriarchal dominance in the family and marriage. Manningham is scrupulous about maintaining verisimilitude,and unlike more fantastical romancesof the periodthat feature monsters, giants, and magic, thistextaspires to a level of probability in its historical and geographical details. The text ofRivallFriendshipis accessible to most modern readers, particularly to students and scholars accustomed to working with seventeenth-century texts.