The English writer Agnes Strickland (1796–1874) began her career writing poetry and romances before turning to biographical studies. This eight-volume series, written in collaboration with her sister Elizabeth, and first published between 1840 and 1849, was her most ambitious project. It provides biographical accounts of the queens of England from Matilda of Flanders to Queen Anne. Hugely popular in the Victorian period, Lives of the Queens of England and its sequel Lives of the Queens of Scotland remain important landmarks in the development of biography as a genre, and provide interesting perspectives on women's contribution to modern historiography. Volume 8 focuses on Queen Anne (1665–1714), portraying her 'gentle and indulgent' temperament, and describing the political turmoil of her reign. For more information on these authors, see http://orlando.cambridge.org/public/svPeople?person_id=striel and http://orlando.cambridge.org/public/svPeople?person_id=striag