This is a most useful and well-researched publication for those interested in the status of women, their education, occupations, dealings with the law and their eventual emancipation.

If you are exploring a known occupation of a female ancestor then this book is for you. Many and varied occupations are covered in some depth and they throw a fascinating light on both the role of women over many generations and their former subservience in a dominant male society.

The reader is able to truly understand the emergence of the “women’s liberation” movement and can only wonder that it took so long to surface.

The book is essential reading for those who wish to study early social conditions as part of their family or local history.

Published in the Bitterne Local History Society Magazine.