Download or read book Women, Reform and Community in Early Modern England written by Melissa Franklin-Harkrider and published by Boydell Press. This book was released on 2008 with total page 204 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Katherine Willoughby, duchess of Suffolk, was one of the highest-ranking noblewomen in sixteenth-century England. She wielded considerable political power in her local community and at court, and her social status and her commitment to religious reform placed her at the centre of the political and religious developments that shaped the English Reformation." "By focusing on her kinship and patronage network, this book offers an examination of the development of Protestantism in the governing classes during the period. The importance of gender in the process of spiritual transformation emerges clearly from this study, showing how the changing religious climate provided new opportunities for women to exert greater influence in their society."--BOOK JACKET.