Lamb (English Southern Illinois U.-Carbondale) presents an abridged edition of the first romance written by an Englishwomen, with modernized spelling and punctuation to make it accessible to general readers. Wroth (1586-1640) offers a myriad of proliferating plots, hundreds of characters, exotic lands, shipwrecks, miracles, marvels, supernatural events, abrupt plot shifts, and other features common to romances but generally lacking in the more tightly plotted story arcs of modern novels. Published by the Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies. Annotation 2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)