Jane Cavendish (1621–1669) wrote primarily during the English Civil Wars; her works include poems, letters, a pastoral play, and the first known stage comedy written by an Englishwoman. She also left an account book including records from her teenage years and the early years of her marriage. Cavendish’s works survive in two separate manuscript collections (Beinecke Library, Osborn MS b.233 and Bodleian Library, Rawlinson MS Poet. 16), and she is notable for composing her poems and cowriting her dramatic works with her sister, Elizabeth Brackley (née Cavendish), while living under Parliamentary occupation. The sense of participation in wider communities, both familial and social, informs her writing throughout her life.