TRY BEFORE YOU TRUST: to all Gentlewomen and Maids in Love

When eighteen-year-old Isabella Whitney meets Robert Barrington, nephew to the widowed baroness she works for, she's sure he's the enlightened husband she's meant to marry – someone who will support her interest in reading and forays into writing poetry. Against the wishes of Robert's father, they pledge their troth and consummate their union. Believing fate has brought them together, they move to Southwark and support each other's writings. When Isabella is encouraged by Robert's friend, a London printer and bookseller, to write for the pamphlet wars, a debate on the merits of women – egos clash as Robert struggles as a balladeer. Despite Robert's objections, Isabella is ready to shake up the reading public of mid-sixteenth century London with her poem that shows men and not women are inconstant in love. Isabella’s determination forces her to make choices uncommon for women of her time.