In Divided Houses, Caroline Ford examines how the so-called feminization of religion in France from the French Revolution to the First World War contributed to the formation of a distinctive secular (laic) republican political culture in France. She also reveals the effect of women's close association with religion on their civil and social status, which gave rise in France to heated debates about the limits of female agency, women's property rights, and women's role in the family and in society. She argues that religious women were often far more than the passive instruments of a male...

From Palm Beach in the north to Cronulla in the south, Sydney's coastline teems with life as people from around the city escape to the beaches to swim, surf, play, and lie in the sun. "Sydney Beaches" tells the story of how locals developed their love of the beach, from 19th-century picnickers to the surfing and sun-baking pioneers a century later. But Sydney's beaches have another lesser-known, intriguing history as the world-famous beach culture only exists because the first beachgoers demanded important rights. Featuring vibrant and historic images of Sydney's seashore, this expansive and...