Women According to Men: The World of Tudor-Stuart Women

by Suzanne W. Hull

What was it like to be a woman when England was ruled by a queen, but women had almost no legal power? When marriage cost women their property rights? When the ideal woman was rarely seen and never heard in public? In other words, what was it like to be a woman in England between 1525 and 1675? Suzanne Hull, in Women According to Men answers these questions and more, taking fascinating look at how women were described, and prescribed to act, by men during that time. Hull, the first woman ever appointed as a Principal Officer at the Huntington Library as well as the author of Chaste, Silent and Obedient , uses her years of experience researching 16th- and 17th-century texts to provide you with an authentic look at the state of women during the Elizabethan era. Through an examination of texts written during that time about and for women, Hull elucidates what the rules for women were then, as well as discussing health habits, household remedies, theories on conception, the care of children, the making of food, fashion and more.

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

Reviews

[Karen Floyd · Rating 3 out of 5]

A look at the lives of women in Tudor and Stuart England by way of the instructional guides men wrote for them. Or, Be Chaste, Be Obedient, and Be Quiet. Women were property, first of their fathers, then of their husbands. They had absolutely no legal rights of their own whatsoever. Though, given the frequency with which men reminded women of their inferiority and of the way they should behave, perhaps the reality wasn't quite so grim as the guidebooks picture? One would hope so.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great reference!