Domestic Dangers: Women, Words, and Sex in Early Modern London

by Laura Gowing

Gowing, Laura

Genres: Nonfiction, History, 17th Century, 16th Century, Gender and Sexuality

312 pages, Hardcover

First published April 11, 1996

Reviews

[Katheryn Thompson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Domestic Dangers: Women, Words, and Sex in Early Modern London reads sixteenth- and seventeenth-century London church court records with an eye to the deep-rooted ideologies of gender, and the daily shape of gender relations. Given its age, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I learnt from this book, and how many new ideas it gave me to think about. Gowing is a really clear writer, and while her repetitions and emphases meant this book was probably a little longer than it needed to be, I found a lot of her explanations really useful. I also loved how modern Gowing's voice felt; this is not an author who falls into the casual misogyny of her sources. Given that Gowing gestured a few times to the contemporary relevance of her research, I was a little disappointed that her conclusion was simply a summary of her book - I know that everyone has different ideas about what a conclusion should do, but I would have loved to see Gowing bring her research forward to the present day.

I'm definitely glad that I read this one, but I have decided on three stars instead of four because the repetitions/length made it a little bit of a drag. Still worth a read though.

[Delilah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gowing just hits the spot for historical fact finding concerning women and how patriarchy has f*cked up everything.