Publisher's Synopsis
This collection presents an array of women's non-fiction writings from 1540 to 1700, its focus being not on females writing ""literature"", but on the actual lives of women in society, described in their own words. The extracts are taken from diaries, letters, sermons, pamphlets, formal petitions, health manuals, trial records, biographies and autobiographies, and the book is organized around themes such as health care, religion, politics, marriage and education, adopting an approach that cuts across genre and chronology. The authors were burdened by what were perceived by many as the metaphysical, moral and physiological limitations of women, and although some of the works were published in their own day, they were subsequently relegated to research libraries or microfilm. They are assembled here with the intention of contributing to scholarship in literature and history courses and in all aspects of gender studies.
