Servants of the Dynasty: Palace Women in World History (California World History Library) [Paperback]

Anne Walthall (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 10, 2008 | ISBN-10: 0520254449 | ISBN-13: 978-0520254442 | Edition: 1

Mothers, wives, concubines, entertainers, attendants, officials, maids, drudges. By offering the first comparative view of the women who lived, worked, and served in royal courts around the globe, this work opens a new perspective on the monarchies that have dominated much of human history. Written by leading historians, anthropologists, and archeologists, these lively essays take us from Mayan states to twentieth-century Benin in Nigeria, to the palace of Japanese Shoguns, the Chinese Imperial courts, eighteenth-century Versailles, Mughal India, and beyond. Together they investigate how women's roles differed, how their roles changed over time, and how their histories can illuminate the structures of power and societies in which they lived. This work also furthers our understanding of how royal courts, created to project the authority of male rulers, maintained themselves through the reproductive and productive powers of women.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This expansive collection. . . affords the first comprehensive review of the women who served in royal courts and palaces around the world, and thereby offers a welcome correction to our androcentric understanding of monarchies."--The China Beat Blog

"Excellent."--Choice

About the Author

Anne Walthall is Professor of History at the University of California, Irvine. She is author of Japan: A Cultural, Social, and Political History and The Weak Body of a Useless Woman: Matsuo Taseko and the Meiji Restoration, among other books.

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press; 1 edition (June 10, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520254449
• ISBN-13: 978-0520254442
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #784,354 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)