Within Her Power: Propertied Women in Colonial Virginia (New World in the Atlantic World) [Paperback]

Linda Sturtz (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 2, 2002 | ISBN-10: 0415928826 | ISBN-13: 978-0415928823 | Edition: 1

This is an engaging and comprehensive study of property-owning women in the colony of Tidewater, VA during the 17th & 18th centuries. It examines the social restrictions on women's behaviour and speech, opportunities and difficulties these women encountered in the legal system, the economic and discretionary authority they enjoyed, the roles they played in the family business,their roles in the later, trans-Atlantic trading framework, and the imperial context within which these colonial women lived, making this a welcome addition to both colonial and women's history.

Editorial Reviews

Review

In this deftly written and researched study, Sturtz presents a lively picture of the colonial Virginia women who negotiated the limits of their society...This is a must read for anyone interested in American women's history. -- C.M. McGovern, CHOICE
Linda Sturtz's meticulously researched study convincingly shows how some of Virginia's propertied women maneuvered effectively to use the legal system to their advantage. By skillfully delineating how these women functioned, Within Her Power measurably complicates our understanding of gender in early American society. -- Ronald Hoffman, Director of the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture and Professor of history, College of William and Mary
Linda Sturtz has bestowed on the community of early American scholars that rare thing: a book with an original thesis that is also deeply grounded in primary sources. This richly storied and elegantly argued study must now be the point of departure for all future scholarly considerations of women in early America. -- Camille Wells, University of Virginia
In this deftly written and researched study, Sturtz (Beloit College) presents a lively picture of the colonial Virginia women who negotiated the limits of their society... This is a must-read for anyone interested American women's history. -- Choice
In unearthing the many ways in which women were active in Virginia's economy, Sturtz has educated us more about its complexity... provides a new view and some important insights on colonial Virginia women. -- Journal of American History
This is a useful addition to a literature that seeks to describe the complicated nature of female legal and economic power in the past. The laws were harsh as written, but some women found ways around them. The agency of colonial Virginian women of means emerges her in all its complexity. -- Lisa Wilson, Connecticut College
Linda Sturtz has written an engaging and creative book about women as economic agents...[her] research illuminates women's wealthholding across a spectrum of economic, social, institutional, and cultural categories. This, in itself, is a major accomplishment. -- Book Reviews, Zephyr Frank

About the Author

Linda Strutz is an Associate Professor of History at Beloit College in Wisconsin.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; 1 edition (June 2, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415928826
• ISBN-13: 978-0415928823
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #822,291 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential reading for the colonial Virginia historian or genealogist, September 7, 2009

By 

Magic Marker - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Within Her Power: Propertied Women in Colonial Virginia (New World in the Atlantic World) (Paperback)

I found "Within Her Power Propertied Women In Colonial Virgina" to be required reading for those researching colonial Virginia families. Social historians like Sturtz have made real the often shadowy figures of colonial women, and understanding how the law impacted women is crucial to understanding their husbands and children as well. Even genealogists of many years experience will find much here to aid their research. Highly recommended.