Includes bibliographical references and index.

Profiles Renaissance women who refused to follow the rules of society and led their lives as they pleased, and not as their parents and husbands wanted them to.

"Take a Romp through the Renaissance when uppity women ruled! In an era typically associated with famous men, infamous women also abounded: Catalina de Erauso, who dueled, drank, and cross-dressed her way through Spain and North America; Christina of Denmark, a dimpled sixteen-year-old widow who turned down Henry VIII (and lived to tell about it); and Veronica Franco, an Italian poet and courtesan turned politician who lobbied in defense of Venice's painted ladies, to name just a few."--BOOK JACKET.