Ambitious women have always been vilified as unnatural, viewed as troublesome, and slandered as witches, bitches, and whores. In exploring the political career of the defiantly ambitious countess of Arran, Lisa Baer-Tsarfati sheds light on the purpose that such characterizations have served - and continue to serve - in shaping perceptions of powerful women.

Lisa Baer-Tsarfati is a PhD candidate in history and Scottish Studies at the University of Guelph. Her doctoral research focuses on the gendered construction and regulation of ambition through language in early modern Scotland. She is currently a digital humanities fellow in the THINC Lab at the University of Guelph and assistant editor of the International Review of Scottish Studies. She is also a moderator of the popular public history forum AskHistorians. Follow Lisa on twitter at @baersafari

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