This work surveys women and work in English society before its transition to industrial capitalism in the 18th and 19th centuries. The time span of the book from 1300 to 1800 allows comparison of women's work patterns across various phases of economic and social organisation.

This book surveys women and work in English society before its transition to industrial capitalism in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The time span of the book from 1300 to 1800 allows comparison of women's work patterns across various phases of economic and social organisation. It was originally published in 1985. Several important themes are highlighted throughout the individual contributions in the book. The most significant is the association between home and work. Not only was trade and manufacture in the pre-industrial period carried out in close proximity to domestic life,...