Women's Worlds in England presents a unique collection of source materials on women's lives in sixteenth and seventeenth century England. The book introduces a wonderfully diverse group of women and a series of voices that have rarely been heard in history, from Deborah Brackley, a poor Devon servant, to Katharine Whitstone, Oliver Cromwell's sister, and Queen Anne. Drawing on unpublished, archival materials, Women's Worlds explores the everyday lives of ordinary early modern women, including their: * experiences of work, sex, marriage and motherhood * beliefs and spirituality * political activities * relationships * mental worlds In a time when few women could write, this book reveals the multitude of ways in which their voices and experiences leave traces in the written record, and deepens and challenges our understanding of womens lives in the past.

Womens Worlds in England presents a unique collection of source materials on womens lives in sixteenth and seventeenth century England. The book introduces a wonderfully diverse group of women and a series of voices that have rarely been heard in history, from Deborah Brackley, a poor Devon servant, to Katharine Whitstone, Oliver Cromwells sister, and Queen Anne. Drawing on unpublished, archival materials, Womens Worlds explores the everyday lives of ordinary early modern women, including their:
* experiences of work, sex, marriage and motherhood
* beliefs and spirituality
* political activities
* relationships
* mental worlds
In a time when few women could write, this book reveals the multitude of ways in which their voices and experiences leave traces in the written record, and deepens and challenges our understanding of womens lives in the past.

Womens Worlds in England presents a unique collection of source materials on womens lives in sixteenth and seventeenth century England. The book introduces a wonderfully diverse group of women and a series of voices that have rarely been heard in history, Drawing on unpublished, archival materials, the book explores women's: * experiences of work, sex, marriage and motherhood * beliefs and spirituality * political activities * relationships * mental worlds. In a time when few women could write, this book reveals the multitude of ways in which their voices have left traces in the written record, and deepens our understanding of womens lives in the past.

Blood, Bodies and Families' presents an innovative series of studies in the cultural and social history of early modern England. The book includes key new research and previously published influential studies. It includes studies of menstruation, sexual knowledge, as well as of infants and maternity. Two new studies, one about blood and paternity, the other about the sibling relationship, and an Introduction extend our understanding of the meanings of families for individuals in early modern times. A sustained treatment of gender offers a new perspective on the history of an individual family and the shaping of its history.

Blood, Bodies and FamiliesA draws upon original research in a range of primary and secondary sources. The new studies, especially the one on siblings, open up new areas for early modern history. The Introduction relates these issues of family life to the present and succeeds in being both highly topical and engagingly personal.

This work is essential reading for students, teachers and researchers in all areas of the history of the family and of early modern history.

Patricia Crawford is Professor of History at the University of Western Australia. She is the author of "Women and Religion in England 1500-1720 (1993), Women in Early Modern England "(with Sara Mendelson)(1998) and "WomenAs Worlds in Seventeenth-Century England: A Sourcebook" (with Laura Gowing)(1999).

This volume presents a collection of source materials on women's lives in 16th and 17th century England. The book introduces a diverse group of women and a series of voices that have rarely been heard in history, from Deborah Brackley, a poor Devon servant, to Katharine Whitstone, Oliver Cromwell's sister, and Queen Anne. Drawing on archival materials, the text explores the everyday lives of ordinary early modern women, including their: experiences of work, sex, marriage and motherhood; beliefs and spirituality; political activities; relationships; and mental worlds. In a time when few women could write, the book seeks to reveal the multitude of ways in which their voices and experiences leave traces in the written record, and deepen and challenge our understanding of women's lives in the past.

Patricia Crawford demonstrates how the consideration of gender is central to our understanding of religious history. Women and Religion has three broad themes: the role and experience of women in the religious upheaval in the period from the Reformation to the Restoration; the significance of religion to contemporary women, focusing on the range of practices and beliefs; and the gendered nature of religious beliefs, institutions and language in the early modern period.

"Women and Religion in England" argues that religion in the early modern period cannot be understood without a perception of the gendered nature of its beliefs, institutions, and language. The book focuses on women and their apprehensions of God during this time. Contemporary religious ideology reinforced the assumption that women were inferior to men, but Patricia Crawford illustrates that it was possible for some women to transcend these beliefs and profoundly influence history.
"Women and Religion in England" is organized within three broad sections: the role of women in the religious upheaval of the Reformation, civil wars, and Commonwealth; the significance of religion to contemporary women and the range of their practices and beliefs; and the role of gender at this time. This wide-ranging synthesis incorporates the most recent scholarship on gender with Crawford's original research, opening up the question of gender and religion in the early modern period.

This collection of essays contains a wealth of information on the nature of the family in the early modern period. This is a core topic within economic and social history courses which is taught at most universities. This text gives readers an overview of how feminist historians have been interpreting the history of the family, ever since Laurence Stone's seminal work FAMILY, SEX AND MARRIAGE IN ENGLAND 1500-1800 was published in 1977. The text is divided into three coherent parts on the following themes: bodies and reproduction; maternity from a feminist perspective; and family relationships. Each part is prefaced by a short introduction commenting on new work in the area. This book will appeal to a wide variety of students because of its sociological, historical and economic foci.

Parents of Poor Children is the first sustained study of the mothers and fathers of poor children in the England of the early modern and early industrial period. Although we know a good deal about the family life of monarchs in this period, much less is known about what life was like for poor single mothers, or for ordinary people who were trying to bring up their children. What were poor mothers and fathers trying to achieve, and what support did they have from their society, especially from the welfare system?
Patricia Crawford attempts to answer these important questions, in order to illuminate the experience of parenting at this time from the perspective of the poor, a group who have naturally left little in the way of literary testimony. In doing this, she draws upon a wide range of archival material, including quarter session records, petitions for assistance, applications for places in the London Foundling Hospital, and evidence from criminal trials in London's Old Bailey.
England in this period had a developing system of welfare, unique in Europe, by which parish rates were collected and administered to those deemed worthy of relief. The "civic fathers" who administered this welfare drew upon a code of fatherhood framed in the Elizabethan period, by which a patriarch took responsibility for maintaining and exercising authority over wives and children. But, as Patricia Crawford shows, this code of family conduct was the product of a material world completely alien to that which the poor inhabited. Parents of the poor were different from those of middling and elite status. Poverty, not property, dictated their relationships with their children. Poor families were frequently broken by death. Fathers were frequently absent, and mothers had to rear their children with whatever forms of relief they could find.

What was life like for women who lived in Tudor and Stuart England? This fascinating book provides a colourful and comprehensive account of the daily experiences of these women, using first-hand sources such as diaries, letters, and household accounts. The authors investigate the varying expectations and opportunities that existed at different stages of women's lives, and examine a range of different themes: the role of female friendships and networks of support or censure; the effects of prevailing gender stereotypes; the diverse roles of women in the religious and political movements of the times. The book focuses on the preoccupations of ordinary women, comparing the makeshift economy of the poorest with the ambitions and activities of those from wealthier backgrounds. Their views on the world -- the outlook of that half of the population usually hidden from the historical record -- open up a valuable new perspective on the history of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century England.