British Women's History: A Documentary History from the Enlightenment to World War I

(Hardback)

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This reader covers a formative period in women's history - the "first wave of feminism" involving middle-class and working class women. It provides a broad perspective of the major themes in women's history and historiography and each section has an introduction which discusses the historical context and interpretation of the texts. The extracts are taken from a range of primary and secondary sources and cover subjects such as the debate over women's role in society, single women, marriage and divorce, employment, education, industrial legislation, trade unions, motherhood, welfare and social reform, sexual behaviour, prostitution, women in politics and suffrage.

Reviews

'Scholar of nineteenth-century British missionaries Alison Twells has produced an exceptionally fine collection of primary documents...on British women from the Enlightenment to World War I...All in all, this is an excellent collection that can shape or enrich a variety of courses, and should be of use to many instructors.' - Susie Steinbach, H-NET, September 2008

Author Bio

Alison Twells is Senior Lecturer in Social and Cultural History at Sheffield Hallam University. She has written various articles, on women's history and on nineteenth-century missionary culture, and is the author of The Civilising Mission and the English Middle Class, 1780-1850: The 'Heathen' at Home and Overseas .