Commentators writing soon after the outbreak of the First World War about the classic problems of women's employment frequently went on to say that the war had 'changed all this'. This text looks at how and why women were employed, and in what ways society's attitudes towards women workers did or did not change during the war.

In the English-speaking world the Great War maintains a tenacious grip on the public imagination, and also continues to draw historians to an event which has been interpreted variously as a symbol of modernity, the midwife to the twentieth century and an agent of social change. Although much 'common knowledge' about the war and its aftermath has included myth, simplification and generalisation, this has often been accepted uncritically by popular and academic writers alike.

While Britain may have suffered a surfeit of war books, many telling much the same story, there is far less...

" ... the student of the Great War and gender is well served, and Braybon's introduction provides an excellent overview of the various historiographical themes, whilst her footnotes provide a useful guide to further reading."? - History "Readers will not be disappointed by this scholarly, yet accessible, collection of essays."? - Centre for First World War Studies In the English-speaking world the Great War maintains a tenacious grip on the public imagination, and also continues to draw historians to an event which has been interpreted variously as a symbol of modernity, the midwife to the...