Born into the Cheshire gentry, Isabella Whitney (c.1550-?) went into service in London and published two volumes of poetry.Mary Sidney, Countess of Pembroke (1561-1621) worked in close literary collaboration with her brother, Sir Philip Sidney, and continued to write after his death.Aemelia Lanyer (1569-1645), a devotional poet, was raised in the Countess of Kent's household and married an Italian musician. Danielle Clarke is a lecturer in English at University College, Dublin.