Fascinating and Good Quality., 10 Apr 2003
I bought this book having read the other good reviews on Amazon and I have found it very useful. I am currently writing a creative piece concerning women and tattoos and this book is intelligent, thought-provoking and surprising. It is full of personal stories from women that I have found invaluable for my work. It is particularly strong on the history of women-as-tattooists and is full of good photographs. I would recommend this book to anyone who has any kind of interest in the subject.

An impotant insight into the history of women and tattoo, 08 Jul 2001
This is not only one of the best books on tattoo or women, but it is one of the best books I have ever read. As a student I used the book for my dissertation on women and tattoos, and it was so helpful; I haven't found another book on the subject that even comes close. The photos are great too. I agree with Pat Fish in that people do not realise that it is not that there is a surge in women having tattoos, but women are changing their attitudes in showing them. From where women had their tattoos, to how they made women money, this book looks at over 100 years of history. It is so worth buying!

Excellent, fascinating treatise, 22 Dec 2000
Pat Fish's review is spot-on. It's certainly worth every penny of the price very well written, insightful and interesting, with beautiful, relevant photographs. Go on, buy it!

Not so subversive, 13 Jan 2000
thoughtfull, if rather repetative. Good photos, shame there's no colour though.

An important history of a secret enthusiasm, 18 Mar 1999
Margot Mifflin's book is an amazingly well-documented and thoroughly acurate telling of the secret history of tattooed women and women tattoo artists in America. I was interviewed extensively for this subject, and throughout the year she was gathering material I watched as Mifflin's knowledge and understanding of her subject matter grew.

I believe the women quoted are proud to have been included and I have not heard ONE of my peers complain about the book, either for attitude expressed or factually.

Many people feel that tattooing has experienced a huge upsurgence of popularity in the last decade, but until this book most will not have had the perspective to realise just how common it was for your Grandma to have slipped off to get a wicked little something, possibly a secret only she and her husband shared. It is women's willingness to boldly display their tattoos, NOT their enthuisiasm for body art, that has changed.

Fascinating and Good Quality., 10 Apr 2003
I bought this book having read the other good reviews on Amazon and I have found it very useful. I am currently writing a creative piece concerning women and tattoos and this book is intelligent, thought-provoking and surprising. It is full of personal stories from women that I have found invaluable for my work. It is particularly strong on the history of women-as-tattooists and is full of good photographs. I would recommend this book to anyone who has any kind of interest in the subject.

An impotant insight into the history of women and tattoo, 08 Jul 2001
This is not only one of the best books on tattoo or women, but it is one of the best books I have ever read. As a student I used the book for my dissertation on women and tattoos, and it was so helpful; I haven't found another book on the subject that even comes close. The photos are great too. I agree with Pat Fish in that people do not realise that it is not that there is a surge in women having tattoos, but women are changing their attitudes in showing them. From where women had their tattoos, to how they made women money, this book looks at over 100 years of history. It is so worth buying!

Excellent, fascinating treatise, 22 Dec 2000
Pat Fish's review is spot-on. It's certainly worth every penny of the price very well written, insightful and interesting, with beautiful, relevant photographs. Go on, buy it!

Not so subversive, 13 Jan 2000
thoughtfull, if rather repetative. Good photos, shame there's no colour though.

An important history of a secret enthusiasm, 18 Mar 1999
Margot Mifflin's book is an amazingly well-documented and thoroughly acurate telling of the secret history of tattooed women and women tattoo artists in America. I was interviewed extensively for this subject, and throughout the year she was gathering material I watched as Mifflin's knowledge and understanding of her subject matter grew.

I believe the women quoted are proud to have been included and I have not heard ONE of my peers complain about the book, either for attitude expressed or factually.

Many people feel that tattooing has experienced a huge upsurgence of popularity in the last decade, but until this book most will not have had the perspective to realise just how common it was for your Grandma to have slipped off to get a wicked little something, possibly a secret only she and her husband shared. It is women's willingness to boldly display their tattoos, NOT their enthuisiasm for body art, that has changed.

gorgeous, 05 May 2008
this book is like a box of expensive chocolates, each page is a delight. i was totally over the moon with this book, as an owner of many many books on the suject i wondered if i needed another one but this is a really beautiful, delightful read, a great exploration of nouveaux burlesque. Its also nice to see so many lovely british performers flying the flag too! great

Utterly utterly gorgeous book, 12 May 2005
As a long time fan and beginner performer of burlesque I was so excited when this book arrived. My friends didnt see me for the rest of the day, so wrapped up was I in the stunning imagery and informed text of the tome!
There is a perfect balance between the history and the aesthetic of burlesque and with plenty of deatail of current artists and troupes it was an real inspiration. The text is very up to date and with the current resurgence of burlesque and strip-tease with a wink and a smile I believe this book to be an invaluble resource for anyone interested or indeed consumed by it.
Performers, pop culturalist, historians, designers, decadents and anyone charmed by the swish of a Sally Rand fan dance will revel in this book!

Winner of the Longman History Today Prize in 1998, Amanda Vickery's The Gentleman's Daughter: Women's Lives in Georgian England is an outstanding study of a crucial period in modern women's history. Roy Porter has described this book as "the most important thing in English feminist history in the last ten years". A reader familiar with the feminist analysis of women's lives in the late 18th to mid-19th century will find some of the commonplaces of that analysis called into question: the rise of "separate spheres" of male and female experience, for example, or the social construction of motherhood in the 18th century. At once scholarly and readable, The Gentleman's Daughter takes its readers on a vivid and well-illustrated tour of "genteel" Georgian society, bringing that world to life through what Vickery identifies as the "terms set out in their own letters by genteel women". Those terms structure the seven sections of the book: "Gentility", "Love and Duty", "Fortitude and Resignation" (which includes a notable discussion of the experience of pregnancy), "Prudent Economy", "Elegance", "Civility and Vulgarity" and "Propriety". "Our battles were not necessarily theirs", Vickery reminds us, striking her convincing balance between a feminist interest in the restriction and rebellion of women's lives and their own ways of finding meaning and pleasure in the gender distinctions of Georgian culture. --Vicky Lebeau

Fascinating and Good Quality., 10 Apr 2003
I bought this book having read the other good reviews on Amazon and I have found it very useful. I am currently writing a creative piece concerning women and tattoos and this book is intelligent, thought-provoking and surprising. It is full of personal stories from women that I have found invaluable for my work. It is particularly strong on the history of women-as-tattooists and is full of good photographs. I would recommend this book to anyone who has any kind of interest in the subject.

An impotant insight into the history of women and tattoo, 08 Jul 2001
This is not only one of the best books on tattoo or women, but it is one of the best books I have ever read. As a student I used the book for my dissertation on women and tattoos, and it was so helpful; I haven't found another book on the subject that even comes close. The photos are great too. I agree with Pat Fish in that people do not realise that it is not that there is a surge in women having tattoos, but women are changing their attitudes in showing them. From where women had their tattoos, to how they made women money, this book looks at over 100 years of history. It is so worth buying!

Excellent, fascinating treatise, 22 Dec 2000
Pat Fish's review is spot-on. It's certainly worth every penny of the price very well written, insightful and interesting, with beautiful, relevant photographs. Go on, buy it!

Not so subversive, 13 Jan 2000
thoughtfull, if rather repetative. Good photos, shame there's no colour though.

An important history of a secret enthusiasm, 18 Mar 1999
Margot Mifflin's book is an amazingly well-documented and thoroughly acurate telling of the secret history of tattooed women and women tattoo artists in America. I was interviewed extensively for this subject, and throughout the year she was gathering material I watched as Mifflin's knowledge and understanding of her subject matter grew.

I believe the women quoted are proud to have been included and I have not heard ONE of my peers complain about the book, either for attitude expressed or factually.

Many people feel that tattooing has experienced a huge upsurgence of popularity in the last decade, but until this book most will not have had the perspective to realise just how common it was for your Grandma to have slipped off to get a wicked little something, possibly a secret only she and her husband shared. It is women's willingness to boldly display their tattoos, NOT their enthuisiasm for body art, that has changed.

gorgeous, 05 May 2008
this book is like a box of expensive chocolates, each page is a delight. i was totally over the moon with this book, as an owner of many many books on the suject i wondered if i needed another one but this is a really beautiful, delightful read, a great exploration of nouveaux burlesque. Its also nice to see so many lovely british performers flying the flag too! great

Utterly utterly gorgeous book, 12 May 2005
As a long time fan and beginner performer of burlesque I was so excited when this book arrived. My friends didnt see me for the rest of the day, so wrapped up was I in the stunning imagery and informed text of the tome!
There is a perfect balance between the history and the aesthetic of burlesque and with plenty of deatail of current artists and troupes it was an real inspiration. The text is very up to date and with the current resurgence of burlesque and strip-tease with a wink and a smile I believe this book to be an invaluble resource for anyone interested or indeed consumed by it.
Performers, pop culturalist, historians, designers, decadents and anyone charmed by the swish of a Sally Rand fan dance will revel in this book!

Women's Lives in Georgian England, 24 Jul 2007
Many books can be found outlining Georgian political history and more than one biography has been written on Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, but the everyday lives of genteel women have had less attention. In this book, Vickery uses surviving letters, diaries, accounts and pocketbooks of a selection of Georgian women living genteel lives in Northern England. I found the book interesting, but fairly heavy going in places. Any modern woman reading the chapter on childbirth will be glad to live in the current age! This is a good insight into everyday life and the role and functions of women within society. However, the type in my copy I found to be quite small, and so a little hard on the eyes. Chapters are also quite long with few breaks in the text. Vickery has also devoted a significant proportion of the book to notes and appendices, where she lists senders and recipients of letters referred to in the main text and other information on the original source material. Interesting, but a fairly scholarly book.

Vital reading, 25 Oct 2000
If you are a scholar of the eighteenth century and you have not read this book, then make it your top priority. It is, quite simly, the most illuminating history book of some time, and fantastically repositions the role of women in this period. Social history for the academic and lay person alike, Brilliant!!

All that a history book should be., 03 Mar 2000
I will admit that I was given this book by a dear friend, but the gift arrived at one of those amazingly serendipitous moments when everything in one's intellectual life seems to point in a single direction. During the past two years I have been rather single-minded in my pursuit of English literature of the 18th and 19th centuries, and first on my list of "keepers" are the novels written by such figures as Fanny Burney, Maria Edgeworth, Ann Radcliffe, and of course, Jane Austen. Thus, as you can imagine, Ms. Vickery's amazing feat of scholarship has been a more than welcome discovery. At turns both light-hearted and astoundingly detailed, it does just what a history book should do, in my estimation, and that is bring the past to life. Part of the fascination of history is, no doubt, that we can see how very strange and remote another time is, but how wonderful to find a work that so adroitly shows how very much we have in common with an earlier time, and in my case, brings the experiences known only through novels to full and meaningful life. I especially appreciate the fact that the author is at pains to point out just how at odds the evidence is with accepted feminist history; this somewhat contrary approach is altogether convincing. But the highest praise I can give from my perspective as a non-historian is that The Gentleman's Daughter (I cannot help but wonder if the title does not echo Elizabeth Bennet, but I may be, at present, too dazzled by Miss Austen to settle upon any other conclusion) is dazzling and entertaining, and I beg my more scholarly companions in reading to excuse the use of the suspect term.

Fascinating and Good Quality., 10 Apr 2003
I bought this book having read the other good reviews on Amazon and I have found it very useful. I am currently writing a creative piece concerning women and tattoos and this book is intelligent, thought-provoking and surprising. It is full of personal stories from women that I have found invaluable for my work. It is particularly strong on the history of women-as-tattooists and is full of good photographs. I would recommend this book to anyone who has any kind of interest in the subject.

An impotant insight into the history of women and tattoo, 08 Jul 2001
This is not only one of the best books on tattoo or women, but it is one of the best books I have ever read. As a student I used the book for my dissertation on women and tattoos, and it was so helpful; I haven't found another book on the subject that even comes close. The photos are great too. I agree with Pat Fish in that people do not realise that it is not that there is a surge in women having tattoos, but women are changing their attitudes in showing them. From where women had their tattoos, to how they made women money, this book looks at over 100 years of history. It is so worth buying!

Excellent, fascinating treatise, 22 Dec 2000
Pat Fish's review is spot-on. It's certainly worth every penny of the price very well written, insightful and interesting, with beautiful, relevant photographs. Go on, buy it!

Not so subversive, 13 Jan 2000
thoughtfull, if rather repetative. Good photos, shame there's no colour though.

An important history of a secret enthusiasm, 18 Mar 1999
Margot Mifflin's book is an amazingly well-documented and thoroughly acurate telling of the secret history of tattooed women and women tattoo artists in America. I was interviewed extensively for this subject, and throughout the year she was gathering material I watched as Mifflin's knowledge and understanding of her subject matter grew.

I believe the women quoted are proud to have been included and I have not heard ONE of my peers complain about the book, either for attitude expressed or factually.

Many people feel that tattooing has experienced a huge upsurgence of popularity in the last decade, but until this book most will not have had the perspective to realise just how common it was for your Grandma to have slipped off to get a wicked little something, possibly a secret only she and her husband shared. It is women's willingness to boldly display their tattoos, NOT their enthuisiasm for body art, that has changed.

gorgeous, 05 May 2008
this book is like a box of expensive chocolates, each page is a delight. i was totally over the moon with this book, as an owner of many many books on the suject i wondered if i needed another one but this is a really beautiful, delightful read, a great exploration of nouveaux burlesque. Its also nice to see so many lovely british performers flying the flag too! great

Utterly utterly gorgeous book, 12 May 2005
As a long time fan and beginner performer of burlesque I was so excited when this book arrived. My friends didnt see me for the rest of the day, so wrapped up was I in the stunning imagery and informed text of the tome!
There is a perfect balance between the history and the aesthetic of burlesque and with plenty of deatail of current artists and troupes it was an real inspiration. The text is very up to date and with the current resurgence of burlesque and strip-tease with a wink and a smile I believe this book to be an invaluble resource for anyone interested or indeed consumed by it.
Performers, pop culturalist, historians, designers, decadents and anyone charmed by the swish of a Sally Rand fan dance will revel in this book!

Women's Lives in Georgian England, 24 Jul 2007
Many books can be found outlining Georgian political history and more than one biography has been written on Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, but the everyday lives of genteel women have had less attention. In this book, Vickery uses surviving letters, diaries, accounts and pocketbooks of a selection of Georgian women living genteel lives in Northern England. I found the book interesting, but fairly heavy going in places. Any modern woman reading the chapter on childbirth will be glad to live in the current age! This is a good insight into everyday life and the role and functions of women within society. However, the type in my copy I found to be quite small, and so a little hard on the eyes. Chapters are also quite long with few breaks in the text. Vickery has also devoted a significant proportion of the book to notes and appendices, where she lists senders and recipients of letters referred to in the main text and other information on the original source material. Interesting, but a fairly scholarly book.

Vital reading, 25 Oct 2000
If you are a scholar of the eighteenth century and you have not read this book, then make it your top priority. It is, quite simly, the most illuminating history book of some time, and fantastically repositions the role of women in this period. Social history for the academic and lay person alike, Brilliant!!

All that a history book should be., 03 Mar 2000
I will admit that I was given this book by a dear friend, but the gift arrived at one of those amazingly serendipitous moments when everything in one's intellectual life seems to point in a single direction. During the past two years I have been rather single-minded in my pursuit of English literature of the 18th and 19th centuries, and first on my list of "keepers" are the novels written by such figures as Fanny Burney, Maria Edgeworth, Ann Radcliffe, and of course, Jane Austen. Thus, as you can imagine, Ms. Vickery's amazing feat of scholarship has been a more than welcome discovery. At turns both light-hearted and astoundingly detailed, it does just what a history book should do, in my estimation, and that is bring the past to life. Part of the fascination of history is, no doubt, that we can see how very strange and remote another time is, but how wonderful to find a work that so adroitly shows how very much we have in common with an earlier time, and in my case, brings the experiences known only through novels to full and meaningful life. I especially appreciate the fact that the author is at pains to point out just how at odds the evidence is with accepted feminist history; this somewhat contrary approach is altogether convincing. But the highest praise I can give from my perspective as a non-historian is that The Gentleman's Daughter (I cannot help but wonder if the title does not echo Elizabeth Bennet, but I may be, at present, too dazzled by Miss Austen to settle upon any other conclusion) is dazzling and entertaining, and I beg my more scholarly companions in reading to excuse the use of the suspect term.

The delight is in the detail, 29 May 2008
This is one of the best history books ever written: I first read it about ten years ago when I lived in the States and I've lost count of the times I've dipped back into it since. It's both a wonderful work of scholarship (Ulrich can tell us exactly who's who in Martha's world) and an engaging, well-written story. It also shows, in these days of medicalised childbirth, just how effective a good midwife can be: Martha's stillbirth and neonatal deathrate of about 4% is high by modern standards, but she delivered twins and breeches, had no forceps, no antibiotics, and no recourse to c-section. It's not just about midwifery, though: it's also a social history of a particular society at a particular time, almost an anthropology of the past.

If you're interested in women's lives in other cultures, or in life at the turn of the nineteenth century, or pregnancy and parturition, give this a go. You'll make the acquaintance of a fascinating woman.

Inspired me to major in history in college., 16 May 1999
Ulrich's book provides a fecundity of specifics to a genre destined to be overgeneralized. Her excruciatingly detailed research and beautiful writing together create a book which both explores an individual biography and illuminates women's history in the period. The depth of her look at one woman in a single town inspired me to do my own local history research using women's diaries. For anyone interest in women, American history or the techniques of social history this book is a must-read.

This is one of the most interesting nonfictions available., 28 Apr 1999
I had to read this book for World Civilizations II and it was definitely worth it. This book shows a new approach to defining past cultures. Ulrich does a fantastic job of pointing out the important facts and letting the not-so-important facts rest.

Martha was fantastic!, 09 Mar 1999
Martha Moore Ballard is my great x5 grandmother, to read the book and to view the movie was very moving to me. I am also in the medical field. I am a descendant of her son Jon. I attended the movie with other ancestors of Martha and we all enjoyed it. The book shows life was not easy for a pioneer woman.

a moving account of a woman's life, 04 Mar 1999
Ulrich's book is a moving account in an underexplored area of American History--the lives and economies of early American women. This book is a double triumph--Martha Ballard kept a detailed diary for almost three decades and Ulrich rescued the dairy from oblivion to create a luminous work of scholarship. This book was moving and engaging beyond almost any work of history I have ever read. Nothing else I have ever read has given me a better feeling of what it would be like to live as a woman in those days. What a triumph!

Fascinating and Good Quality., 10 Apr 2003
I bought this book having read the other good reviews on Amazon and I have found it very useful. I am currently writing a creative piece concerning women and tattoos and this book is intelligent, thought-provoking and surprising. It is full of personal stories from women that I have found invaluable for my work. It is particularly strong on the history of women-as-tattooists and is full of good photographs. I would recommend this book to anyone who has any kind of interest in the subject.

An impotant insight into the history of women and tattoo, 08 Jul 2001
This is not only one of the best books on tattoo or women, but it is one of the best books I have ever read. As a student I used the book for my dissertation on women and tattoos, and it was so helpful; I haven't found another book on the subject that even comes close. The photos are great too. I agree with Pat Fish in that people do not realise that it is not that there is a surge in women having tattoos, but women are changing their attitudes in showing them. From where women had their tattoos, to how they made women money, this book looks at over 100 years of history. It is so worth buying!

Excellent, fascinating treatise, 22 Dec 2000
Pat Fish's review is spot-on. It's certainly worth every penny of the price very well written, insightful and interesting, with beautiful, relevant photographs. Go on, buy it!

Not so subversive, 13 Jan 2000
thoughtfull, if rather repetative. Good photos, shame there's no colour though.

An important history of a secret enthusiasm, 18 Mar 1999
Margot Mifflin's book is an amazingly well-documented and thoroughly acurate telling of the secret history of tattooed women and women tattoo artists in America. I was interviewed extensively for this subject, and throughout the year she was gathering material I watched as Mifflin's knowledge and understanding of her subject matter grew.

I believe the women quoted are proud to have been included and I have not heard ONE of my peers complain about the book, either for attitude expressed or factually.

Many people feel that tattooing has experienced a huge upsurgence of popularity in the last decade, but until this book most will not have had the perspective to realise just how common it was for your Grandma to have slipped off to get a wicked little something, possibly a secret only she and her husband shared. It is women's willingness to boldly display their tattoos, NOT their enthuisiasm for body art, that has changed.

gorgeous, 05 May 2008
this book is like a box of expensive chocolates, each page is a delight. i was totally over the moon with this book, as an owner of many many books on the suject i wondered if i needed another one but this is a really beautiful, delightful read, a great exploration of nouveaux burlesque. Its also nice to see so many lovely british performers flying the flag too! great

Utterly utterly gorgeous book, 12 May 2005
As a long time fan and beginner performer of burlesque I was so excited when this book arrived. My friends didnt see me for the rest of the day, so wrapped up was I in the stunning imagery and informed text of the tome!
There is a perfect balance between the history and the aesthetic of burlesque and with plenty of deatail of current artists and troupes it was an real inspiration. The text is very up to date and with the current resurgence of burlesque and strip-tease with a wink and a smile I believe this book to be an invaluble resource for anyone interested or indeed consumed by it.
Performers, pop culturalist, historians, designers, decadents and anyone charmed by the swish of a Sally Rand fan dance will revel in this book!

Women's Lives in Georgian England, 24 Jul 2007
Many books can be found outlining Georgian political history and more than one biography has been written on Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, but the everyday lives of genteel women have had less attention. In this book, Vickery uses surviving letters, diaries, accounts and pocketbooks of a selection of Georgian women living genteel lives in Northern England. I found the book interesting, but fairly heavy going in places. Any modern woman reading the chapter on childbirth will be glad to live in the current age! This is a good insight into everyday life and the role and functions of women within society. However, the type in my copy I found to be quite small, and so a little hard on the eyes. Chapters are also quite long with few breaks in the text. Vickery has also devoted a significant proportion of the book to notes and appendices, where she lists senders and recipients of letters referred to in the main text and other information on the original source material. Interesting, but a fairly scholarly book.

Vital reading, 25 Oct 2000
If you are a scholar of the eighteenth century and you have not read this book, then make it your top priority. It is, quite simly, the most illuminating history book of some time, and fantastically repositions the role of women in this period. Social history for the academic and lay person alike, Brilliant!!

All that a history book should be., 03 Mar 2000
I will admit that I was given this book by a dear friend, but the gift arrived at one of those amazingly serendipitous moments when everything in one's intellectual life seems to point in a single direction. During the past two years I have been rather single-minded in my pursuit of English literature of the 18th and 19th centuries, and first on my list of "keepers" are the novels written by such figures as Fanny Burney, Maria Edgeworth, Ann Radcliffe, and of course, Jane Austen. Thus, as you can imagine, Ms. Vickery's amazing feat of scholarship has been a more than welcome discovery. At turns both light-hearted and astoundingly detailed, it does just what a history book should do, in my estimation, and that is bring the past to life. Part of the fascination of history is, no doubt, that we can see how very strange and remote another time is, but how wonderful to find a work that so adroitly shows how very much we have in common with an earlier time, and in my case, brings the experiences known only through novels to full and meaningful life. I especially appreciate the fact that the author is at pains to point out just how at odds the evidence is with accepted feminist history; this somewhat contrary approach is altogether convincing. But the highest praise I can give from my perspective as a non-historian is that The Gentleman's Daughter (I cannot help but wonder if the title does not echo Elizabeth Bennet, but I may be, at present, too dazzled by Miss Austen to settle upon any other conclusion) is dazzling and entertaining, and I beg my more scholarly companions in reading to excuse the use of the suspect term.

The delight is in the detail, 29 May 2008
This is one of the best history books ever written: I first read it about ten years ago when I lived in the States and I've lost count of the times I've dipped back into it since. It's both a wonderful work of scholarship (Ulrich can tell us exactly who's who in Martha's world) and an engaging, well-written story. It also shows, in these days of medicalised childbirth, just how effective a good midwife can be: Martha's stillbirth and neonatal deathrate of about 4% is high by modern standards, but she delivered twins and breeches, had no forceps, no antibiotics, and no recourse to c-section. It's not just about midwifery, though: it's also a social history of a particular society at a particular time, almost an anthropology of the past.

If you're interested in women's lives in other cultures, or in life at the turn of the nineteenth century, or pregnancy and parturition, give this a go. You'll make the acquaintance of a fascinating woman.

Inspired me to major in history in college., 16 May 1999
Ulrich's book provides a fecundity of specifics to a genre destined to be overgeneralized. Her excruciatingly detailed research and beautiful writing together create a book which both explores an individual biography and illuminates women's history in the period. The depth of her look at one woman in a single town inspired me to do my own local history research using women's diaries. For anyone interest in women, American history or the techniques of social history this book is a must-read.

This is one of the most interesting nonfictions available., 28 Apr 1999
I had to read this book for World Civilizations II and it was definitely worth it. This book shows a new approach to defining past cultures. Ulrich does a fantastic job of pointing out the important facts and letting the not-so-important facts rest.

Martha was fantastic!, 09 Mar 1999
Martha Moore Ballard is my great x5 grandmother, to read the book and to view the movie was very moving to me. I am also in the medical field. I am a descendant of her son Jon. I attended the movie with other ancestors of Martha and we all enjoyed it. The book shows life was not easy for a pioneer woman.

a moving account of a woman's life, 04 Mar 1999
Ulrich's book is a moving account in an underexplored area of American History--the lives and economies of early American women. This book is a double triumph--Martha Ballard kept a detailed diary for almost three decades and Ulrich rescued the dairy from oblivion to create a luminous work of scholarship. This book was moving and engaging beyond almost any work of history I have ever read. Nothing else I have ever read has given me a better feeling of what it would be like to live as a woman in those days. What a triumph!

So, so gorgeous!, 12 Aug 2005
Whether you are a fashion-lover, a lingerie afficianado, a professional costumer, a history buff or someone interested in women's social roles, Bra: A Thousand Years of Style, Support and Seduction, is for you. It is exhaustively researched, contains gorgeous historical and contemporary artwork, and is written with a keen wit. It also includes a section on things you must know about the bra, such as fitting tips, building a bra wardrobe and what kind of bra style goes with what kind of outfit. Much recommended.

Fascinating and Good Quality., 10 Apr 2003
I bought this book having read the other good reviews on Amazon and I have found it very useful. I am currently writing a creative piece concerning women and tattoos and this book is intelligent, thought-provoking and surprising. It is full of personal stories from women that I have found invaluable for my work. It is particularly strong on the history of women-as-tattooists and is full of good photographs. I would recommend this book to anyone who has any kind of interest in the subject.

An impotant insight into the history of women and tattoo, 08 Jul 2001
This is not only one of the best books on tattoo or women, but it is one of the best books I have ever read. As a student I used the book for my dissertation on women and tattoos, and it was so helpful; I haven't found another book on the subject that even comes close. The photos are great too. I agree with Pat Fish in that people do not realise that it is not that there is a surge in women having tattoos, but women are changing their attitudes in showing them. From where women had their tattoos, to how they made women money, this book looks at over 100 years of history. It is so worth buying!

Excellent, fascinating treatise, 22 Dec 2000
Pat Fish's review is spot-on. It's certainly worth every penny of the price very well written, insightful and interesting, with beautiful, relevant photographs. Go on, buy it!

Not so subversive, 13 Jan 2000
thoughtfull, if rather repetative. Good photos, shame there's no colour though.

An important history of a secret enthusiasm, 18 Mar 1999
Margot Mifflin's book is an amazingly well-documented and thoroughly acurate telling of the secret history of tattooed women and women tattoo artists in America. I was interviewed extensively for this subject, and throughout the year she was gathering material I watched as Mifflin's knowledge and understanding of her subject matter grew.

I believe the women quoted are proud to have been included and I have not heard ONE of my peers complain about the book, either for attitude expressed or factually.

Many people feel that tattooing has experienced a huge upsurgence of popularity in the last decade, but until this book most will not have had the perspective to realise just how common it was for your Grandma to have slipped off to get a wicked little something, possibly a secret only she and her husband shared. It is women's willingness to boldly display their tattoos, NOT their enthuisiasm for body art, that has changed.

gorgeous, 05 May 2008
this book is like a box of expensive chocolates, each page is a delight. i was totally over the moon with this book, as an owner of many many books on the suject i wondered if i needed another one but this is a really beautiful, delightful read, a great exploration of nouveaux burlesque. Its also nice to see so many lovely british performers flying the flag too! great

Utterly utterly gorgeous book, 12 May 2005
As a long time fan and beginner performer of burlesque I was so excited when this book arrived. My friends didnt see me for the rest of the day, so wrapped up was I in the stunning imagery and informed text of the tome!
There is a perfect balance between the history and the aesthetic of burlesque and with plenty of deatail of current artists and troupes it was an real inspiration. The text is very up to date and with the current resurgence of burlesque and strip-tease with a wink and a smile I believe this book to be an invaluble resource for anyone interested or indeed consumed by it.
Performers, pop culturalist, historians, designers, decadents and anyone charmed by the swish of a Sally Rand fan dance will revel in this book!

Women's Lives in Georgian England, 24 Jul 2007
Many books can be found outlining Georgian political history and more than one biography has been written on Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, but the everyday lives of genteel women have had less attention. In this book, Vickery uses surviving letters, diaries, accounts and pocketbooks of a selection of Georgian women living genteel lives in Northern England. I found the book interesting, but fairly heavy going in places. Any modern woman reading the chapter on childbirth will be glad to live in the current age! This is a good insight into everyday life and the role and functions of women within society. However, the type in my copy I found to be quite small, and so a little hard on the eyes. Chapters are also quite long with few breaks in the text. Vickery has also devoted a significant proportion of the book to notes and appendices, where she lists senders and recipients of letters referred to in the main text and other information on the original source material. Interesting, but a fairly scholarly book.

Vital reading, 25 Oct 2000
If you are a scholar of the eighteenth century and you have not read this book, then make it your top priority. It is, quite simly, the most illuminating history book of some time, and fantastically repositions the role of women in this period. Social history for the academic and lay person alike, Brilliant!!

All that a history book should be., 03 Mar 2000
I will admit that I was given this book by a dear friend, but the gift arrived at one of those amazingly serendipitous moments when everything in one's intellectual life seems to point in a single direction. During the past two years I have been rather single-minded in my pursuit of English literature of the 18th and 19th centuries, and first on my list of "keepers" are the novels written by such figures as Fanny Burney, Maria Edgeworth, Ann Radcliffe, and of course, Jane Austen. Thus, as you can imagine, Ms. Vickery's amazing feat of scholarship has been a more than welcome discovery. At turns both light-hearted and astoundingly detailed, it does just what a history book should do, in my estimation, and that is bring the past to life. Part of the fascination of history is, no doubt, that we can see how very strange and remote another time is, but how wonderful to find a work that so adroitly shows how very much we have in common with an earlier time, and in my case, brings the experiences known only through novels to full and meaningful life. I especially appreciate the fact that the author is at pains to point out just how at odds the evidence is with accepted feminist history; this somewhat contrary approach is altogether convincing. But the highest praise I can give from my perspective as a non-historian is that The Gentleman's Daughter (I cannot help but wonder if the title does not echo Elizabeth Bennet, but I may be, at present, too dazzled by Miss Austen to settle upon any other conclusion) is dazzling and entertaining, and I beg my more scholarly companions in reading to excuse the use of the suspect term.

The delight is in the detail, 29 May 2008
This is one of the best history books ever written: I first read it about ten years ago when I lived in the States and I've lost count of the times I've dipped back into it since. It's both a wonderful work of scholarship (Ulrich can tell us exactly who's who in Martha's world) and an engaging, well-written story. It also shows, in these days of medicalised childbirth, just how effective a good midwife can be: Martha's stillbirth and neonatal deathrate of about 4% is high by modern standards, but she delivered twins and breeches, had no forceps, no antibiotics, and no recourse to c-section. It's not just about midwifery, though: it's also a social history of a particular society at a particular time, almost an anthropology of the past.

If you're interested in women's lives in other cultures, or in life at the turn of the nineteenth century, or pregnancy and parturition, give this a go. You'll make the acquaintance of a fascinating woman.

Inspired me to major in history in college., 16 May 1999
Ulrich's book provides a fecundity of specifics to a genre destined to be overgeneralized. Her excruciatingly detailed research and beautiful writing together create a book which both explores an individual biography and illuminates women's history in the period. The depth of her look at one woman in a single town inspired me to do my own local history research using women's diaries. For anyone interest in women, American history or the techniques of social history this book is a must-read.

This is one of the most interesting nonfictions available., 28 Apr 1999
I had to read this book for World Civilizations II and it was definitely worth it. This book shows a new approach to defining past cultures. Ulrich does a fantastic job of pointing out the important facts and letting the not-so-important facts rest.

Martha was fantastic!, 09 Mar 1999
Martha Moore Ballard is my great x5 grandmother, to read the book and to view the movie was very moving to me. I am also in the medical field. I am a descendant of her son Jon. I attended the movie with other ancestors of Martha and we all enjoyed it. The book shows life was not easy for a pioneer woman.

a moving account of a woman's life, 04 Mar 1999
Ulrich's book is a moving account in an underexplored area of American History--the lives and economies of early American women. This book is a double triumph--Martha Ballard kept a detailed diary for almost three decades and Ulrich rescued the dairy from oblivion to create a luminous work of scholarship. This book was moving and engaging beyond almost any work of history I have ever read. Nothing else I have ever read has given me a better feeling of what it would be like to live as a woman in those days. What a triumph!

So, so gorgeous!, 12 Aug 2005
Whether you are a fashion-lover, a lingerie afficianado, a professional costumer, a history buff or someone interested in women's social roles, Bra: A Thousand Years of Style, Support and Seduction, is for you. It is exhaustively researched, contains gorgeous historical and contemporary artwork, and is written with a keen wit. It also includes a section on things you must know about the bra, such as fitting tips, building a bra wardrobe and what kind of bra style goes with what kind of outfit. Much recommended.

Academic, 25 Aug 2006
This book presumes the reader has a good knowledge of art history etc., and goes into great depth with much detail. As I was looking for something more general I found it heavy going in places and thought the last sections devoted to modern art disappointing with quesionable examples. I think we all have an instinct for what is good art, and a lot of these simply aren't - they separate the masses from art, rather than integrate. Apart from that, it's good value, plenty of illustrations and well written. It'll stay on my shelf as a reference book I can dip into from time to time.

Women in Art, 02 Feb 2004
Chadwick's book is the definative in this genre, an absolute must read for anyone wishing to research this field.

excellent overview of womens contribution to european art, 18 Jul 2002
Chadwicks masterly study of women in European art is incredibily well researched. She manages to uncover the forgotton contribution of women to the arts and the context of the contemporary worlds they lived within. Her dicussion of the major ideological trends in society and the arts is impressive. While it could have included more discussion on the non Anglo-American art scene, the book has proved invaluable in understanding the complexities of women in art history.

Fascinating and Good Quality., 10 Apr 2003
I bought this book having read the other good reviews on Amazon and I have found it very useful. I am currently writing a creative piece concerning women and tattoos and this book is intelligent, thought-provoking and surprising. It is full of personal stories from women that I have found invaluable for my work. It is particularly strong on the history of women-as-tattooists and is full of good photographs. I would recommend this book to anyone who has any kind of interest in the subject.

An impotant insight into the history of women and tattoo, 08 Jul 2001
This is not only one of the best books on tattoo or women, but it is one of the best books I have ever read. As a student I used the book for my dissertation on women and tattoos, and it was so helpful; I haven't found another book on the subject that even comes close. The photos are great too. I agree with Pat Fish in that people do not realise that it is not that there is a surge in women having tattoos, but women are changing their attitudes in showing them. From where women had their tattoos, to how they made women money, this book looks at over 100 years of history. It is so worth buying!

Excellent, fascinating treatise, 22 Dec 2000
Pat Fish's review is spot-on. It's certainly worth every penny of the price very well written, insightful and interesting, with beautiful, relevant photographs. Go on, buy it!

Not so subversive, 13 Jan 2000
thoughtfull, if rather repetative. Good photos, shame there's no colour though.

An important history of a secret enthusiasm, 18 Mar 1999
Margot Mifflin's book is an amazingly well-documented and thoroughly acurate telling of the secret history of tattooed women and women tattoo artists in America. I was interviewed extensively for this subject, and throughout the year she was gathering material I watched as Mifflin's knowledge and understanding of her subject matter grew.

I believe the women quoted are proud to have been included and I have not heard ONE of my peers complain about the book, either for attitude expressed or factually.

Many people feel that tattooing has experienced a huge upsurgence of popularity in the last decade, but until this book most will not have had the perspective to realise just how common it was for your Grandma to have slipped off to get a wicked little something, possibly a secret only she and her husband shared. It is women's willingness to boldly display their tattoos, NOT their enthuisiasm for body art, that has changed.

gorgeous, 05 May 2008
this book is like a box of expensive chocolates, each page is a delight. i was totally over the moon with this book, as an owner of many many books on the suject i wondered if i needed another one but this is a really beautiful, delightful read, a great exploration of nouveaux burlesque. Its also nice to see so many lovely british performers flying the flag too! great

Utterly utterly gorgeous book, 12 May 2005
As a long time fan and beginner performer of burlesque I was so excited when this book arrived. My friends didnt see me for the rest of the day, so wrapped up was I in the stunning imagery and informed text of the tome!
There is a perfect balance between the history and the aesthetic of burlesque and with plenty of deatail of current artists and troupes it was an real inspiration. The text is very up to date and with the current resurgence of burlesque and strip-tease with a wink and a smile I believe this book to be an invaluble resource for anyone interested or indeed consumed by it.
Performers, pop culturalist, historians, designers, decadents and anyone charmed by the swish of a Sally Rand fan dance will revel in this book!

Women's Lives in Georgian England, 24 Jul 2007
Many books can be found outlining Georgian political history and more than one biography has been written on Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, but the everyday lives of genteel women have had less attention. In this book, Vickery uses surviving letters, diaries, accounts and pocketbooks of a selection of Georgian women living genteel lives in Northern England. I found the book interesting, but fairly heavy going in places. Any modern woman reading the chapter on childbirth will be glad to live in the current age! This is a good insight into everyday life and the role and functions of women within society. However, the type in my copy I found to be quite small, and so a little hard on the eyes. Chapters are also quite long with few breaks in the text. Vickery has also devoted a significant proportion of the book to notes and appendices, where she lists senders and recipients of letters referred to in the main text and other information on the original source material. Interesting, but a fairly scholarly book.

Vital reading, 25 Oct 2000
If you are a scholar of the eighteenth century and you have not read this book, then make it your top priority. It is, quite simly, the most illuminating history book of some time, and fantastically repositions the role of women in this period. Social history for the academic and lay person alike, Brilliant!!

All that a history book should be., 03 Mar 2000
I will admit that I was given this book by a dear friend, but the gift arrived at one of those amazingly serendipitous moments when everything in one's intellectual life seems to point in a single direction. During the past two years I have been rather single-minded in my pursuit of English literature of the 18th and 19th centuries, and first on my list of "keepers" are the novels written by such figures as Fanny Burney, Maria Edgeworth, Ann Radcliffe, and of course, Jane Austen. Thus, as you can imagine, Ms. Vickery's amazing feat of scholarship has been a more than welcome discovery. At turns both light-hearted and astoundingly detailed, it does just what a history book should do, in my estimation, and that is bring the past to life. Part of the fascination of history is, no doubt, that we can see how very strange and remote another time is, but how wonderful to find a work that so adroitly shows how very much we have in common with an earlier time, and in my case, brings the experiences known only through novels to full and meaningful life. I especially appreciate the fact that the author is at pains to point out just how at odds the evidence is with accepted feminist history; this somewhat contrary approach is altogether convincing. But the highest praise I can give from my perspective as a non-historian is that The Gentleman's Daughter (I cannot help but wonder if the title does not echo Elizabeth Bennet, but I may be, at present, too dazzled by Miss Austen to settle upon any other conclusion) is dazzling and entertaining, and I beg my more scholarly companions in reading to excuse the use of the suspect term.

The delight is in the detail, 29 May 2008
This is one of the best history books ever written: I first read it about ten years ago when I lived in the States and I've lost count of the times I've dipped back into it since. It's both a wonderful work of scholarship (Ulrich can tell us exactly who's who in Martha's world) and an engaging, well-written story. It also shows, in these days of medicalised childbirth, just how effective a good midwife can be: Martha's stillbirth and neonatal deathrate of about 4% is high by modern standards, but she delivered twins and breeches, had no forceps, no antibiotics, and no recourse to c-section. It's not just about midwifery, though: it's also a social history of a particular society at a particular time, almost an anthropology of the past.

If you're interested in women's lives in other cultures, or in life at the turn of the nineteenth century, or pregnancy and parturition, give this a go. You'll make the acquaintance of a fascinating woman.

Inspired me to major in history in college., 16 May 1999
Ulrich's book provides a fecundity of specifics to a genre destined to be overgeneralized. Her excruciatingly detailed research and beautiful writing together create a book which both explores an individual biography and illuminates women's history in the period. The depth of her look at one woman in a single town inspired me to do my own local history research using women's diaries. For anyone interest in women, American history or the techniques of social history this book is a must-read.

This is one of the most interesting nonfictions available., 28 Apr 1999
I had to read this book for World Civilizations II and it was definitely worth it. This book shows a new approach to defining past cultures. Ulrich does a fantastic job of pointing out the important facts and letting the not-so-important facts rest.

Martha was fantastic!, 09 Mar 1999
Martha Moore Ballard is my great x5 grandmother, to read the book and to view the movie was very moving to me. I am also in the medical field. I am a descendant of her son Jon. I attended the movie with other ancestors of Martha and we all enjoyed it. The book shows life was not easy for a pioneer woman.

a moving account of a woman's life, 04 Mar 1999
Ulrich's book is a moving account in an underexplored area of American History--the lives and economies of early American women. This book is a double triumph--Martha Ballard kept a detailed diary for almost three decades and Ulrich rescued the dairy from oblivion to create a luminous work of scholarship. This book was moving and engaging beyond almost any work of history I have ever read. Nothing else I have ever read has given me a better feeling of what it would be like to live as a woman in those days. What a triumph!

So, so gorgeous!, 12 Aug 2005
Whether you are a fashion-lover, a lingerie afficianado, a professional costumer, a history buff or someone interested in women's social roles, Bra: A Thousand Years of Style, Support and Seduction, is for you. It is exhaustively researched, contains gorgeous historical and contemporary artwork, and is written with a keen wit. It also includes a section on things you must know about the bra, such as fitting tips, building a bra wardrobe and what kind of bra style goes with what kind of outfit. Much recommended.

Academic, 25 Aug 2006
This book presumes the reader has a good knowledge of art history etc., and goes into great depth with much detail. As I was looking for something more general I found it heavy going in places and thought the last sections devoted to modern art disappointing with quesionable examples. I think we all have an instinct for what is good art, and a lot of these simply aren't - they separate the masses from art, rather than integrate. Apart from that, it's good value, plenty of illustrations and well written. It'll stay on my shelf as a reference book I can dip into from time to time.

Women in Art, 02 Feb 2004
Chadwick's book is the definative in this genre, an absolute must read for anyone wishing to research this field.

excellent overview of womens contribution to european art, 18 Jul 2002
Chadwicks masterly study of women in European art is incredibily well researched. She manages to uncover the forgotton contribution of women to the arts and the context of the contemporary worlds they lived within. Her dicussion of the major ideological trends in society and the arts is impressive. While it could have included more discussion on the non Anglo-American art scene, the book has proved invaluable in understanding the complexities of women in art history.

This is a very important book against Religious dogmatism and Male Chauvinism., 09 Sep 2006
I bought one for my self, and promptly ordered one for my daughter.
All women should read it as a boost against the Male God presiding over us all in both Judaism, Christianity and Islam to the exclusion of any Goddess Female influence what so ever.

This is not a work of great sophistication, but it is an honest book written by a female who was clearly shocked about what most of the world seems to have missed, namely the fact that God was not alwas a Man, "God" was once a woman.

The primary religions of the West have supressed the Goddess idea and dominated our traditions with the Male God concept.

What is worse - The teatching in our schools has hidden the fact that religions have not always been dominated by a Male God - The earliest religions have clearly been domintated by a Female, Birthgiving Goddess.

Females were equal or superior to the Male in most of the earlier religions. A religious war against the female sex as a dominating force in early Judaism, corrupted Judaism and their ancient scriptures and Christianity and Islam quickly followed that particular idear that the force dominating us from above was and is Male.

The Keltic idear of Male and Female equality in Europe, was supressed and sexicide of the cruellest order ever - took place during the time of the inquisiton in Spain which spread like a malign mass psycosis over Europe and USA, and even into Africa and Arabia. Only India kept their female goddesses and goddess worship although their supremacy were deminished and the Male godds grew in importance.

We should know that the Male God idear has demished the worth of the female sex. It is time that we took up the struggle for equality also on the religious level and rejected the idea that a Male God presides over us all and no Female sits beside him and shares the status he has claimed for himself through the Male oriented religons, and male priests, all over the world.

The devine energies clearly demonstrates itself in both female and male energies. The old fashioned idea of a Male God above us and his male profets or sons or whatever religious dogma tries to state that God is male and his profet or Son is also a male - Must give way to sound thinking some time in the future and the time should be now.

This very important book clearly challenges the old concept of a Male with lots of good research into our Goddess dominated religions and also hints at how the concept of Eve and the snake was fabricated aginst the Snake/Fertility Goddesses of ancient times.

It is written for everybody who can read, and it will contain news for most of us, what ever level of sophistication we think we belong to.

It's about time we heard the 'Rest of the Story', 03 Jun 2003
My wife and I were raised in a strict bible upbringing, and it was my wife who kept insisting life was not fair as a woman. I had no problem of course, as men enjoy automatic supremecy in church with the bible backing you up to silence and supress women. I am what they call a backslider now, and this book affirms what my wife has suspected for a long time. Other religions share the man is central theme, and I loved reading what was always there but not completely destroyed by invaders. I look forward to learning more truth about what really happened

There was history before the Bible?, 27 Aug 1999
In light of the recent decision by the board of education in Kansas, I now know that we truly live in a society of ignorance. The historical evidence presented in this book is well-researched and I don't feel as though any is taken out of context. I can see why Christians and Jews would take offense to this book because it threatens their supposed one true god. Stone goes point by point taking apart the origin of their religion through the destruction of what had existed as a belief system for eons. Could something had existed before Adam & Eve? Perish the thought! I feel closer to the Goddess now and how things used to be thousands of years ago than I ever did in 10 years of Luthern Sunday School and confirmation class. As for the state of Kansas, I pity the students for they will make ignorant adults when evolution ceases to be taught. Its just another example of "accidental or intentional censorship" of ideas outside of Christian thought. I am truly disgusted with those who are in positions of power nowadays. It is so reminiscent of those long ago patriarchal invaders who propagate their own opinions by making people think its how "its always been."

Ladies & Gentlemen, Here are the facts on the ground!, 19 Aug 1999
For years I have read the Bible and wondered, "Yes, but what does the archeological evidence say? What did the neighbors say in their writings? Where's the corroborating evidence? After all, these are real places and real people. They had to leave real traces behind." Well, it turns out they did. And what those traces say doesn't not agree with what fundamentalists teach about the Bible, but it does agree with common sense and basic human psychology. A first-rate book, and a gift to our understanding of the Old Testament.

important foundation for women's spirituality, 18 May 1999
So many scholarly types chalk this book up to feminism which is unfair. This book set the tone for many to come, and the reason this particular book is important is that it is based in actual archaeology. Granted, some of the authors who come after Merlin Stone take this book way too far (e.g. Starhawk), but this should be required reading for prehistory students at the college level, along with all the Marxist interpretations of various prehistorical sites known to exist. Very readable and scrupulously researched.

Fascinating and Good Quality., 10 Apr 2003
I bought this book having read the other good reviews on Amazon and I have found it very useful. I am currently writing a creative piece concerning women and tattoos and this book is intelligent, thought-provoking and surprising. It is full of personal stories from women that I have found invaluable for my work. It is particularly strong on the history of women-as-tattooists and is full of good photographs. I would recommend this book to anyone who has any kind of interest in the subject.

An impotant insight into the history of women and tattoo, 08 Jul 2001
This is not only one of the best books on tattoo or women, but it is one of the best books I have ever read. As a student I used the book for my dissertation on women and tattoos, and it was so helpful; I haven't found another book on the subject that even comes close. The photos are great too. I agree with Pat Fish in that people do not realise that it is not that there is a surge in women having tattoos, but women are changing their attitudes in showing them. From where women had their tattoos, to how they made women money, this book looks at over 100 years of history. It is so worth buying!

Excellent, fascinating treatise, 22 Dec 2000
Pat Fish's review is spot-on. It's certainly worth every penny of the price very well written, insightful and interesting, with beautiful, relevant photographs. Go on, buy it!

Not so subversive, 13 Jan 2000
thoughtfull, if rather repetative. Good photos, shame there's no colour though.

An important history of a secret enthusiasm, 18 Mar 1999
Margot Mifflin's book is an amazingly well-documented and thoroughly acurate telling of the secret history of tattooed women and women tattoo artists in America. I was interviewed extensively for this subject, and throughout the year she was gathering material I watched as Mifflin's knowledge and understanding of her subject matter grew.

I believe the women quoted are proud to have been included and I have not heard ONE of my peers complain about the book, either for attitude expressed or factually.

Many people feel that tattooing has experienced a huge upsurgence of popularity in the last decade, but until this book most will not have had the perspective to realise just how common it was for your Grandma to have slipped off to get a wicked little something, possibly a secret only she and her husband shared. It is women's willingness to boldly display their tattoos, NOT their enthuisiasm for body art, that has changed.

gorgeous, 05 May 2008
this book is like a box of expensive chocolates, each page is a delight. i was totally over the moon with this book, as an owner of many many books on the suject i wondered if i needed another one but this is a really beautiful, delightful read, a great exploration of nouveaux burlesque. Its also nice to see so many lovely british performers flying the flag too! great

Utterly utterly gorgeous book, 12 May 2005
As a long time fan and beginner performer of burlesque I was so excited when this book arrived. My friends didnt see me for the rest of the day, so wrapped up was I in the stunning imagery and informed text of the tome!
There is a perfect balance between the history and the aesthetic of burlesque and with plenty of deatail of current artists and troupes it was an real inspiration. The text is very up to date and with the current resurgence of burlesque and strip-tease with a wink and a smile I believe this book to be an invaluble resource for anyone interested or indeed consumed by it.
Performers, pop culturalist, historians, designers, decadents and anyone charmed by the swish of a Sally Rand fan dance will revel in this book!

Women's Lives in Georgian England, 24 Jul 2007
Many books can be found outlining Georgian political history and more than one biography has been written on Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, but the everyday lives of genteel women have had less attention. In this book, Vickery uses surviving letters, diaries, accounts and pocketbooks of a selection of Georgian women living genteel lives in Northern England. I found the book interesting, but fairly heavy going in places. Any modern woman reading the chapter on childbirth will be glad to live in the current age! This is a good insight into everyday life and the role and functions of women within society. However, the type in my copy I found to be quite small, and so a little hard on the eyes. Chapters are also quite long with few breaks in the text. Vickery has also devoted a significant proportion of the book to notes and appendices, where she lists senders and recipients of letters referred to in the main text and other information on the original source material. Interesting, but a fairly scholarly book.

Vital reading, 25 Oct 2000
If you are a scholar of the eighteenth century and you have not read this book, then make it your top priority. It is, quite simly, the most illuminating history book of some time, and fantastically repositions the role of women in this period. Social history for the academic and lay person alike, Brilliant!!

All that a history book should be., 03 Mar 2000
I will admit that I was given this book by a dear friend, but the gift arrived at one of those amazingly serendipitous moments when everything in one's intellectual life seems to point in a single direction. During the past two years I have been rather single-minded in my pursuit of English literature of the 18th and 19th centuries, and first on my list of "keepers" are the novels written by such figures as Fanny Burney, Maria Edgeworth, Ann Radcliffe, and of course, Jane Austen. Thus, as you can imagine, Ms. Vickery's amazing feat of scholarship has been a more than welcome discovery. At turns both light-hearted and astoundingly detailed, it does just what a history book should do, in my estimation, and that is bring the past to life. Part of the fascination of history is, no doubt, that we can see how very strange and remote another time is, but how wonderful to find a work that so adroitly shows how very much we have in common with an earlier time, and in my case, brings the experiences known only through novels to full and meaningful life. I especially appreciate the fact that the author is at pains to point out just how at odds the evidence is with accepted feminist history; this somewhat contrary approach is altogether convincing. But the highest praise I can give from my perspective as a non-historian is that The Gentleman's Daughter (I cannot help but wonder if the title does not echo Elizabeth Bennet, but I may be, at present, too dazzled by Miss Austen to settle upon any other conclusion) is dazzling and entertaining, and I beg my more scholarly companions in reading to excuse the use of the suspect term.

The delight is in the detail, 29 May 2008
This is one of the best history books ever written: I first read it about ten years ago when I lived in the States and I've lost count of the times I've dipped back into it since. It's both a wonderful work of scholarship (Ulrich can tell us exactly who's who in Martha's world) and an engaging, well-written story. It also shows, in these days of medicalised childbirth, just how effective a good midwife can be: Martha's stillbirth and neonatal deathrate of about 4% is high by modern standards, but she delivered twins and breeches, had no forceps, no antibiotics, and no recourse to c-section. It's not just about midwifery, though: it's also a social history of a particular society at a particular time, almost an anthropology of the past.

If you're interested in women's lives in other cultures, or in life at the turn of the nineteenth century, or pregnancy and parturition, give this a go. You'll make the acquaintance of a fascinating woman.

Inspired me to major in history in college., 16 May 1999
Ulrich's book provides a fecundity of specifics to a genre destined to be overgeneralized. Her excruciatingly detailed research and beautiful writing together create a book which both explores an individual biography and illuminates women's history in the period. The depth of her look at one woman in a single town inspired me to do my own local history research using women's diaries. For anyone interest in women, American history or the techniques of social history this book is a must-read.

This is one of the most interesting nonfictions available., 28 Apr 1999
I had to read this book for World Civilizations II and it was definitely worth it. This book shows a new approach to defining past cultures. Ulrich does a fantastic job of pointing out the important facts and letting the not-so-important facts rest.

Martha was fantastic!, 09 Mar 1999
Martha Moore Ballard is my great x5 grandmother, to read the book and to view the movie was very moving to me. I am also in the medical field. I am a descendant of her son Jon. I attended the movie with other ancestors of Martha and we all enjoyed it. The book shows life was not easy for a pioneer woman.

a moving account of a woman's life, 04 Mar 1999
Ulrich's book is a moving account in an underexplored area of American History--the lives and economies of early American women. This book is a double triumph--Martha Ballard kept a detailed diary for almost three decades and Ulrich rescued the dairy from oblivion to create a luminous work of scholarship. This book was moving and engaging beyond almost any work of history I have ever read. Nothing else I have ever read has given me a better feeling of what it would be like to live as a woman in those days. What a triumph!

So, so gorgeous!, 12 Aug 2005
Whether you are a fashion-lover, a lingerie afficianado, a professional costumer, a history buff or someone interested in women's social roles, Bra: A Thousand Years of Style, Support and Seduction, is for you. It is exhaustively researched, contains gorgeous historical and contemporary artwork, and is written with a keen wit. It also includes a section on things you must know about the bra, such as fitting tips, building a bra wardrobe and what kind of bra style goes with what kind of outfit. Much recommended.

Academic, 25 Aug 2006
This book presumes the reader has a good knowledge of art history etc., and goes into great depth with much detail. As I was looking for something more general I found it heavy going in places and thought the last sections devoted to modern art disappointing with quesionable examples. I think we all have an instinct for what is good art, and a lot of these simply aren't - they separate the masses from art, rather than integrate. Apart from that, it's good value, plenty of illustrations and well written. It'll stay on my shelf as a reference book I can dip into from time to time.

Women in Art, 02 Feb 2004
Chadwick's book is the definative in this genre, an absolute must read for anyone wishing to research this field.

excellent overview of womens contribution to european art, 18 Jul 2002
Chadwicks masterly study of women in European art is incredibily well researched. She manages to uncover the forgotton contribution of women to the arts and the context of the contemporary worlds they lived within. Her dicussion of the major ideological trends in society and the arts is impressive. While it could have included more discussion on the non Anglo-American art scene, the book has proved invaluable in understanding the complexities of women in art history.

This is a very important book against Religious dogmatism and Male Chauvinism., 09 Sep 2006
I bought one for my self, and promptly ordered one for my daughter.
All women should read it as a boost against the Male God presiding over us all in both Judaism, Christianity and Islam to the exclusion of any Goddess Female influence what so ever.

This is not a work of great sophistication, but it is an honest book written by a female who was clearly shocked about what most of the world seems to have missed, namely the fact that God was not alwas a Man, "God" was once a woman.

The primary religions of the West have supressed the Goddess idea and dominated our traditions with the Male God concept.

What is worse - The teatching in our schools has hidden the fact that religions have not always been dominated by a Male God - The earliest religions have clearly been domintated by a Female, Birthgiving Goddess.

Females were equal or superior to the Male in most of the earlier religions. A religious war against the female sex as a dominating force in early Judaism, corrupted Judaism and their ancient scriptures and Christianity and Islam quickly followed that particular idear that the force dominating us from above was and is Male.

The Keltic idear of Male and Female equality in Europe, was supressed and sexicide of the cruellest order ever - took place during the time of the inquisiton in Spain which spread like a malign mass psycosis over Europe and USA, and even into Africa and Arabia. Only India kept their female goddesses and goddess worship although their supremacy were deminished and the Male godds grew in importance.

We should know that the Male God idear has demished the worth of the female sex. It is time that we took up the struggle for equality also on the religious level and rejected the idea that a Male God presides over us all and no Female sits beside him and shares the status he has claimed for himself through the Male oriented religons, and male priests, all over the world.

The devine energies clearly demonstrates itself in both female and male energies. The old fashioned idea of a Male God above us and his male profets or sons or whatever religious dogma tries to state that God is male and his profet or Son is also a male - Must give way to sound thinking some time in the future and the time should be now.

This very important book clearly challenges the old concept of a Male with lots of good research into our Goddess dominated religions and also hints at how the concept of Eve and the snake was fabricated aginst the Snake/Fertility Goddesses of ancient times.

It is written for everybody who can read, and it will contain news for most of us, what ever level of sophistication we think we belong to.

It's about time we heard the 'Rest of the Story', 03 Jun 2003
My wife and I were raised in a strict bible upbringing, and it was my wife who kept insisting life was not fair as a woman. I had no problem of course, as men enjoy automatic supremecy in church with the bible backing you up to silence and supress women. I am what they call a backslider now, and this book affirms what my wife has suspected for a long time. Other religions share the man is central theme, and I loved reading what was always there but not completely destroyed by invaders. I look forward to learning more truth about what really happened

There was history before the Bible?, 27 Aug 1999
In light of the recent decision by the board of education in Kansas, I now know that we truly live in a society of ignorance. The historical evidence presented in this book is well-researched and I don't feel as though any is taken out of context. I can see why Christians and Jews would take offense to this book because it threatens their supposed one true god. Stone goes point by point taking apart the origin of their religion through the destruction of what had existed as a belief system for eons. Could something had existed before Adam & Eve? Perish the thought! I feel closer to the Goddess now and how things used to be thousands of years ago than I ever did in 10 years of Luthern Sunday School and confirmation class. As for the state of Kansas, I pity the students for they will make ignorant adults when evolution ceases to be taught. Its just another example of "accidental or intentional censorship" of ideas outside of Christian thought. I am truly disgusted with those who are in positions of power nowadays. It is so reminiscent of those long ago patriarchal invaders who propagate their own opinions by making people think its how "its always been."

Ladies & Gentlemen, Here are the facts on the ground!, 19 Aug 1999
For years I have read the Bible and wondered, "Yes, but what does the archeological evidence say? What did the neighbors say in their writings? Where's the corroborating evidence? After all, these are real places and real people. They had to leave real traces behind." Well, it turns out they did. And what those traces say doesn't not agree with what fundamentalists teach about the Bible, but it does agree with common sense and basic human psychology. A first-rate book, and a gift to our understanding of the Old Testament.

important foundation for women's spirituality, 18 May 1999
So many scholarly types chalk this book up to feminism which is unfair. This book set the tone for many to come, and the reason this particular book is important is that it is based in actual archaeology. Granted, some of the authors who come after Merlin Stone take this book way too far (e.g. Starhawk), but this should be required reading for prehistory students at the college level, along with all the Marxist interpretations of various prehistorical sites known to exist. Very readable and scrupulously researched.

The use of the book for historical reference., 28 Feb 2002
The book provides an study of the Women's Suffrage Campaign, which is useful for studying the above topic. However, even though the information provide is useful it is sometimes hard to follow as the order of the book is not chronological but instead by topic. As an historical reference it is good for providing fairly in-depth information. Yet is not that detailed for all readers.