Women in Early Modern England 1550-1720

Sara H. Mendelson is Professor of the Arts and Science Program at McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario. Patricia Crawford is Professor in the History Department at the University of Western Australia.

... a rich, full and stimulating analysis of many aspects of women's lives during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries ... very clearly structured throughout ... Mendelson and Crawford's book is wide-ranging and sophisticated, and should be widely read. It will serve both as an invaluable teaching companion and, with its immensely detailed bibliography (which is especially good as a guide to manuscripts and unpublished doctoral work), as a useful tool for further research for many years to come.

• Preface, acknowledgements, abbreviations, glossary, list of illustrations ; Introduction ; 1. Contexts:- Medical theories; Religious teachings; The law and its administration; Citizenship; Popular notions; Stereotypes; Misogyny and patriarchy. ; 2. Life Stages:- Childhood and Adolescence: Early years; Service; Courtship. ; 3. Adult Life:- Marriage; Maternity; Single women; Widowhood; Old age; Death. ; 4. Female Culture:- Space; Speech; Material culture; The practice of piety; Female friendship; Passionate friends and lesbian relationships; Female consciousness and feminism. ; 5. The Makeshift Economy of Poor Women:- Work and gender; Poverty; Making a living; The indigent and destitute. ; 6. Occupational Identities and Social Roles:- Running a household; Professional and skilled work: medical, educational, and cultural; Crafts, trades, and multiple occupations; Royal, civic, and institutional employment; Public housewifery. ; 7. Politics:- Female monarchs; Aristocratic women: Queens consort and courtiers; Popular politics before 1640; Women and revolution, 1640-1660; Women in political movements, 1660-1720. ; Conclusion ; Epilogue ; Select bibliography