This is the first ever complete critical edition of the writings of Anne Finch, Countess of Winchilsea (1661–1720), including work printed in her lifetime and material left in manuscript form at her death. Textual analysis, based on print and manuscript copies in repositories across the United Kingdom and United States, reveals her revision processes and uses of manuscript and print. Extensive commentary clarifies her techniques, sources, contexts, and diction. A detailed essay traces the history of her works' reception and transmission. The result is a complete view of her achievements that will promote more accurate assessments of her contributions to literary and cultural shifts, including perspectives on literary value, women's equality, religion, and affairs of state. This second volume provides established texts of Finch's later collections in print and manuscript form, Miscellany Poems, on Several Occasions (1713) and The Wellesley Manuscript, as well as uncollected poems and letters.

‘One of the many virtues of the splendid new edition - the fullest ever presentation of Finch’s oeuvre - is that it displays more clearly than ever before the extraordinary diversity, versatility, and virtuosity of her talents. The edition is beautifully printed, stoutly bound, and the pages are properly sewn in sections. The edition will be an essential purchase for all serious libraries …’

David Hopkins Source: The Review of English Studies

‘On page after page, readers of The Cambridge Edition of the Works of Anne Finch, Countess of Winchilsea will find poems that have been edited carefully, interpreted in ways that encourage future scholarship, and supported by clear and sufficient notes. The creators of this edition have done a great service to the field, and their work deserves to be used, and celebrated, for a long time.’

Melissa Schoenberger Source: ABO: Interactive Journal for Women in the Arts, 1640-1830