A Woman Scorn'd

<p><b>Dido and Aeneas</b> has been one of the most compelling and durable of the great classical myths. The material the story offers has led artists, authors and musicians throughout the centuries to appropriate - and misappropriate - the story for both artistic and political ends. <br><br>Ten distinguished contributors from the fields of Fine Art, History, English Literature, Classics and Music examine the myth itself and the way in which it has been re-interpreted by later authors. The volume opens with a consideration of the theatrical aspects of Book IV of Virgil''s <b>Aeneid</b>, the character of Dido and the appearances of Mercury, while later interpretations discussed include the way the image of the Queen has been used in art, a play by Marlowe, operas by Cavalli and Purcell, and seventeenth-century English satire.<br><br>Michael Burden - the Editor of this stimulating volume - was Lecturer in Music at New College, Oxford, from 1989, and since1995 has been Fellow in Opera Studies at New College. His research interests are centred on seventeenth- and eighteenth-century music, particularly English opera.</p>