Advice books published by women were a popular genre in Seventeenth and early Eighteenth-century England and they were moral manuals with strong religious overtones. Here, Urban highlights a notable exception: Age Rectified, which counsels women to acquire a 'disposition of mind' in old age which allows them to be accepted by younger generations.

This book is a discussion of seventeenth century mothers' advice books that contextualizes women within the culture of the period. It also includes an edition of the unique mothers' advice book Age Rectified.