A club is a weapon used by savages to keep white women at a distance. "George Augustus Sala, a founder member of the Savage Club
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Of the many and varied groups of people excluded from clubs and associations, the most commonly discriminated against is women. They have been excluded not only from West End clubs, including military clubs, but from working men's clubs and from sporting clubs. In retaliation, many women in Britain have not only set up their own clubs and associations, often though not always along the lines of male clubs, but have striven to break down resistance to their joining men's clubs on an equal footing.
"Women, Clubs and Associations in Britain i"s a very readable survey not only of the historical background of women's clubs, drawing on a wide range of published and unpublished sources, but of associations like the Women's Institutes and Townswomen's Guilds. It is intended in the first instance for the general reader, but it will also be of use to students of social and women's history. The authors also look at clubs and associations for girls such as the Guides and the YWCA. It includes women organizing for voluntary service outside the State and their mixed relationships with men's clubs, for example, Rotary. And of course, there is the vexed and volatile matter of women's, men's and mixed sports clubs.

Women have been consistently excluded from all manner of clubs and associations over the years, whether as the direct result of an anti-woman policy or indirectly through prohibitive entry requirements, social constraints, or conflict of interests and tastes. Retaliation from women has taken two directions: some women have set up their own exclusive clubs that reflect their own interests and aims, while others have taken on the men and striven to break down resistance to their joining men s clubs on an equal footing.

This book traces the development of the current situation, drawing from a wide range of sources, some of which have never been published before. Looking at the different types of clubs and associations that include women and girls from the WI to the Girl Guides, this book is a rich social history full of fascinating observations and stories, and will be absorbing reading for anyone interested in sociology, women s history or the transformation of Britain s social life.

Throughout history, women from all over the world have come together for diverse and often contradictory purposes in informal networks, or as participants in men's organizations, or even more or less covertly. However, in Britain and Ireland at least, it is only in the past two centuries that they have in significant numbers banded together openly, formally, separately and autonomously. They have done so for a variety of reasons: to further a political cause, to improve social relations, to improve their understanding of the world or to acquire particular skills, to share a leisure or cultural interest, to further an occupational or professional interest, for solidarity with women of similar persuasions, to distinguish themselves from other women, and sometimes for good fellowship or just to have fun.

Throughout history, women from all over the world have come together for diverse and often contradictory purposes in informal networks, or as participants in men's organizations, or even more or less covertly. However, in Britain and Ireland at least, it is only in the past two centuries that they have in significant numbers banded together openly, formally, separately and autonomously. They have done so for a variety of reasons: to further a political cause, to improve social relations, to improve their understanding of the world or to acquire particular skills, to share a leisure or cultural interest, to further an occupational or professional interest, for solidarity with women of similar persuasions, to distinguish themselves from other women, and sometimes for good fellowship or just to have fun.

Tolkien Through Russian Eyes examines the sociological impact of the translation and publication of J.R.R. Tolkien's works in post-Soviet Russia. After 70 years of obligatory State atheism, when the Soviet Union collapsed, Russian society began actively seeking new sets of spiritual values. The Christian-like doctrine of Tolkienism has attracted a substantial following. During the Soviet era, The Lord of the Rings was a banned book, which was translated independently by a number of underground translators. The result of this is that there are numerous contemporary published translations competing with each other for the reader's attention. There are 10 translations of The Lord of the Rings; 9 translations of The Hobbit and 6 translations of The Silmarillion. Each translator has a slightly different approach to the text. Each translation has a slightly different interpretation of Tolkien. Each translator has a different story to tell. Most of the existing translations are only Tolkienesque, they are not really Tolkienian. They have been adapted to the Russian mental climate. This book relates the history of the publication of Tolkien's works; examines the philosophical distortions introduced by the competing translations, attempts to explain their origins and how they will be perceived by the Russian reader. No knowledge of Russian is necessary. Mr. Hooker's articles on Tolkien have been published in the specialist periodical press in English, in Dutch and in Russian. The results of his research have been presented at a number of conferences, both in the United States and in Holland.