This group biography explores the lives, work, and personal relations of nine white, middle- and upper-middle-class women who were involved in the first decade of Chicago's premier social settlement. This "galaxy of stars"--as they were called in their own day--were active in innumerable political, social, and religious reform efforts.

The Women of Hull House refutes the humanistic interpretation of the social settlement movement. Its spiritual base is highlighted as the author describes it as the practical/ethical side of the social gospel movement and as an attempt to transform late...