Women on the Margins: Three Seventeenth-Century Lives

I got this book to research a paper I wrote about sexism in the history of different wedding traditions among different cultures for my Feminism in the Middle Ages class in college. It was a really interesting subject to research and this book had quite a bit of great information on the subject!

This book is fantstic. I was looking specifically for Maria Sybilla Merian because she had joined the Labadists colony and I was hoping to find names and connections to my ancestors who were also in this Labadist colony. But I ended up reading about all three women. Natalie Zemon Davis does an excellent job of creating a narrative and makes their lives so transparent. Her research and documentation of the informastion she finds is the best I've yet found in any of my readings. Her bibliography is impressive. The three women she chooses to highlight are compelling historically relative figures in their own right even though women back then had limited opportunities. These three women find a way to carve out an imporant roll in life and leave a legacy that is difficult to overlook. Kudos to the author for this book. I'm glad I found it.

I had to read this book for a course on Medieval Women, and I'm so glad I did! The book is well-written, engaging, and compels you to read further. Even people who might not know much about history would probably also enjoy this book. I love to read history through the lives of real people, and I felt that the author's choice of these three women was excellent. You get quite a vivid picture of what these women's lives were like. If you are at all interested in women's lives in Europe in the 17th century, then you should check out this book. Even if you tend to think that anything before the 20th century is boring, you might want to try this book out and see how interesting the pre-modern world can be.

An important work for researchers of the life, times, and work of the artist and pioneer naturalist Maria Sibylla Merian. There's more to learn here than just popular biography/history.

This is a wonderful book. I was so pleased to be able to buy it online through Amazon.com. I like how the author gives you a clear perspective on the lives of the women she reviews.

Arrived on time and as described. The book itself is pretty boring, but it was a required reading.

Good resource. A bit tedious at certain points, but overall is informative and well done

Decent book, I was not aware of the woes that women faced in the past. If you enjoy womens' tales, read this book. One book that beats Fifty Shades of Grey in suspense, as well as plot. A good read.

Quand on travaille sur un article traduit de l'américain et qui renvoie à l'original, il faut bien avoir le livre original anglais en main pour pouvoir renvoyer correctement à l'édition française' Grandeur et servitude du métier d'éditeur !