The Woman Question in France, 1400–1870

'A monumental work of historical scholarship. In every chapter, Offen demonstrates the wide variety of women's voices, the importance of their intellectual contributions, and the persistence with which women leaders agitated for change. With admirable, lucid prose, she shows that when individuals analyzed the nature and meaning of 'woman', they were also talking about other crucial things - from power and authority to biology and religion. This book makes an exceptionally important contribution to the history of women, gender, and women's emancipation (including the obstacles to it), while reorienting our understanding of French history itself.' Edward Berenson, New York University
'Offen offers a reinterpretation of debates over women and the proper relations of the sexes in the French past. Rather than confining her study to a traditional political chronology, the author deliberately extends her analysis through the French Revolution in order to demonstrate that no aspect of the debates on the woman question began with the Third Republic.' J. Werner, Choice
'It is difficult to convey how impressive Offen's two books are, and this summary cannot do justice to them. There is no historian better versed in the intricacies of the women question in France and the breadth of the scholarship on display is breathtaking. Offen also writes beautifully. The prose is clear and lucid, and every chapter demonstrates the depth of her knowledge.' Christine Adams, H-France
'Offen's insightful narration of the deep continuities in the woman question in France also provides a foundation for scholars across the early modern-modern divide to familiarize themselves with the full range of echoes of 'the woman question' across the centuries.' Jennifer M. Jones, The American Historical Review
'One finishes reading Offen's books in deep gratitude for the monumental labor that she invested in writing them. Thanks to the author's sustained, forthright pursuit of this new narrative in French history, many more topics now deserve further study … what elements of France's specificity in the contested woman question contributed to the country's slow, troubled modernization? What role, if any, did the debate have in France's overseas territories where race and ethnicity were also at play, especially in the interwar period? Such queries naturally arise from Offen's magisterial work, its shrewd insights and compelling detail …' James Smith Allen, The Journal of Modern History