Both highly respected in women's history field

• 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

... 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companion and, with its immensely detailed bibliography (which is especially good as a guide to manuscripts and unpublished doctoral work), as a useful tool for further research for many years to come.