Du Bellay replied to his various assailants in a preface to the second edition (1550) of his sonnet sequence Olive, with which he also published two polemical poems, the Musagnaeomachie, and an ode addressed to Ronsard, Contre les envieux poetes.
The writings of his daughter Lady Mary Wroth include a massive and intricate prose romance and a brilliant sonnet sequence.
His sonnet sequence - consisting of 154 separate poems - is arguably the finest collection of love poems in the English language.
