Arc provided by Netgalley | DNF’d at 12%
I want to make it clear that my review of this book shall be rather limited as I only managed to read the first 12% - so while I stand by my choice not to complete it, I wish to make it clear that my review will be rather limiting.
A History of Women’s Work promised a look into the history of women’s employment throughout history in the small package of roughly 200 pages. However, it instead offered a limiting view of this history by suffocating the history in bursts of facts and accounts that it seemed all too eager to rush through in order to get to the next chapter or topic.
Now, I am not yet a prolific reader of non-fiction, a fact which in requesting this book I aimed to begin to remedy, so perhaps my viewpoint is a little biased and limiting. But as a student I had to read more than a few essays that explored historical events within novels and literary work, and they all seemed far keener to explain and discuss their subjects than this book manages to.
I’d say my main critique with this book is that, in limiting itself to a fast-paced list of facts and statistics with little exploration or interesting word choice to support them, it stumbles into a rather boring reading experience that feels more like a chore to plough through instead of enjoy.
Regardless, I admit my viewpoint remains limited, as I failed to complete a significant portion of this book (which I would consider 25%). So, while I stand by my opinions for the seconds of this book in which I did read, I cannot speak accurately for the rest of the book’s contents – though I assume with a heavy heart that they more than likely fall into the same trap as it’s early chapters.

Janet Few, A History of Women's Work The Evolution of Women's Working Lives, Pen & Sword | Pen & Sword History, May 12025.

Thank you, NetGalley and Pen & Sword publishing for providing me with this uncorrected proof for review.

This is a dense, detailed, and absorbing history of women’s work. It is a valuable contribution to understanding women’s work, the impact on their health, their family, their old age, and their society. In a history such as this, familiar stories, such as the Bryant and May match factory women’s rebellion and demands for safer working conditions have their place. So too, do the stories about which little if any information has previously been published. One of the satisfactions in reading this book lies in this mix. Not only is there the evolution of the title, but the book demonstrates the evolution of access to information about women’s work, and interest in the gamut of tasks that occupied women’s lives from childhood to old age. Largely, the writing relies on the detail for its energy, rather than a style that is as easily accessible as some Pen & Sword publications. However, the inclusion of engaging stories is appealing, and where the information is delivered without these, Few’s ability to develop a strong understanding of women’s working lives is considerable.

So many of women’s professions, working environments, tasks and responsibilities are covered it is worth listing a few to provide a flavour of the material. There are chapters on working with textiles (clothing the family, factory work, glove making, buttons and lacemaking) munitions workers, straw plaiting, the fishing industry, prostitution, medical matters such as herbal knowledge, midwifery and childbirth, dairy work, and shop working. Women’s work during wartime and the fight for women’s suffrage provide broader aspects of women’s work and their social as well as economic aspirations. Some chapters are dedicated to women’s stories, and these are an excellent read. Others include anecdotal evidence about individual women and their responses to their environment – work, domestic and the wider life in a village or city. Legislation and trade union activity is discussed. The material on teaching and learning covers so much – the discriminatory practices and beliefs that hampered women, their domestic responsibilities and the lack of facilities and recognition when they completed educational hurdles.

There are some wonderful graphics, for example a poster inciting retribution for poor treatment of suffragists – ‘Down with Asquith Death to Tyrants – as well as informative pictures of various working conditions, machinery, many of the items referred to in the text and some of the women who feature in the book. These are richly described. There are notes to each chapter and an index. Janet Few has provided a wonderful source of information about women’s work, and even more engagingly, insight into the women themselves.

A truly fascinating book! It was very interesting to read about the history of women’s work and see their impact on society; it really makes you rethink everything you know about feminism.

And the writing is easy to follow, not for a moment it felt boring or overwhelming.

A must read for all🫶

"A History of Women's Work" is nonfiction about the different types of work that women did (primarily focused on England) up until the World Wars. The author covered keeping up the household to paid work that could be done at home to helping her husband or paid employment outside the home. The information was written in a very readable fashion, so even teens might find this interesting.

The author covered a variety of jobs, describing each one with some detail on how it was done, explaining how it changed over time, and sometimes using a real woman's example (as found in historical records) to show how the work affected their lives. Sometimes she pointed out a registry that you could go to if you're searching for details about your ancestors who did that job. She covered: making clothing, munitions work, domestic servants, straw plaiting, making matches, fishwives and herring packers, prostitution, housewives using herbal remedies, healing professions, cooking, glove making, dairy work, cleaning, laundry, lacemaking, midwifery, shop work, farm work during the World Wars, textile mills, button making, woman's suffrage, teaching, and pottery work. Overall, I'd recommend this interesting, informative nonfiction.

An interesting look into what it has taken to be a woman over the centuries. I loved the detail it went into with how the process of making clothing worked and how the balance of motherhood was effected.

Sadly, I was not impressed.

➡️ It felt dispassionate and matter of fact.
➡️ Very impersonal, I wanted some examples of women during the different jobs. That would have gone a long way of making this more engaging.
➡️ Superficial, it didn't seem that well researched.
➡️ There was no read thread from one chapter to another, making the experience both confusing and lackluster.

For anyone eager to delve into the multifaceted landscape of feminism and the evolving roles of women throughout history, *A History of Women’s Work* is an exceptional choice. As an avid reader of engaging historical narratives, I was particularly captivated by the book's thorough exploration of women’s contributions—not merely in formal employment, but also in the myriad behind-the-scenes efforts that frequently go unacknowledged. This book prompts a reassessment of everything one might think they know about women and their work; it extends beyond the well-trodden paths of prominent figures to illuminate the countless women who have toiled quietly yet profoundly, demonstrating creativity and unwavering dedication in countless spheres.

The writing is both articulate and succinct, effectively delivering a fresh perspective on what “work” has truly represented for women over the ages. It serves as an informative resource presented in an engaging style that keeps readers captivated throughout. Mainly focusing on the historical work lives of British women, it includes a few exceptional chapters that broaden the scope to encompass other regions and experiences, making it a compelling and versatile read.

Janet Few, the author, excels in shedding light on the often-overlooked labor of women across centuries—both paid and unpaid. The organization of the book into distinct sections—household labor, home-based industries, and paid work outside the home—profoundly illustrates the range and complexity of women's roles, often performed simultaneously and without recognition or compensation. What makes the text particularly accessible is its readability; it is grounded in rigorous research yet avoids being dense or dry. The vivid case studies and specific examples bridge the gap between abstract concepts and the real lives of women throughout history.

One of the aspects I appreciated most was Few's call to action, encouraging readers to explore their own familial legacies. She provides practical tips on how to uncover the stories of our female ancestors, who, while perhaps absent from prominent historical records such as wills and land deeds, were nonetheless vital to their households and communities. This personal invitation not only enhances the educational value of the book but also empowers readers by connecting them to their own histories.

If you're interested in women's studies, social history, or genealogy, this book is an essential read. It fills numerous gaps left by traditional historical narratives, presenting its findings in a manner that is both insightful and inspiring. In this work, Few offers a clear, approachable, and much-needed examination of women's labor over the centuries—both paid and unpaid, visible and invisible. Drawing from an expansive overview of British and European social history, she emphasizes the complexities of daily life while providing a timely reconsideration of how gender dynamics have influenced, limited, and defined women's work throughout history.

Rather than presenting a simplistic linear account, Few crafts a rich, kaleidoscopic portrayal of women's labor, encompassing domestic service, agricultural work, cottage industries, and the intricate intersections of motherhood, caregiving, and community engagement. She pays particular attention to roles that are frequently neglected in official economic histories—tasks crucial to household survival, local economies, and the intergenerational transfer of knowledge.

What truly distinguishes this volume is Few’s meticulous contextualization of women’s experiences. She refrains from glamorizing pre-industrial labor or exaggerating feminist “firsts.” Instead, she weaves a nuanced narrative that acknowledges the complexities of class, regional differences, and historical transformations. The stories of working-class women, rural laborers, widows, and servants receive as much attention as those of the exceptional individuals who broke through professional barriers. Her insightful chapters on early industrialization and wartime labor are particularly noteworthy, capturing the shifting opportunities and the significant burdens these transitions entailed.

Few’s writing is not only clear and instructive; it is also enriched by compelling case studies, archival excerpts, and personal anecdotes that together render the historical landscape visceral and relatable. Readers interested in genealogy or social history will appreciate her focus on documentation practices and the omissions present in historical records, where women's contributions are frequently obscured or misattributed.

Moreover, I found it enlightening that this book chronicles the Western evolution of women entering the workforce—an evolution that is often taken for granted today. The inclusion of true accounts from everyday women, rather than solely relying on well-known figures, adds depth and authenticity, particularly as some narratives include journal entries that lend a personal touch. This approach helped me confront the tremendous challenges faced by women in previous centuries, who fought for the right to work and to complete their tasks. Few lays out these stakes with remarkable clarity.

Additionally, the book highlights forms of labor that I hadn’t previously considered significant, yet were indeed impactful within their historical contexts. Even elements touching on broader themes beyond women’s work contribute to a richer understanding of the times, painting a more comprehensive picture of the past and the essential contributions of women to their societies.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

‘A History of Women’s Work’ serves as an interesting, if not cursory, look into the progress of women in the workplace, from an early pre-industrial era through to the early suffrage movement.

This book definitely deals with interesting subjects, however, it is perhaps just that bit too much of a summary. There’s not enough in the way of explanation, and, while industry is examined, the impact on women and the way that they progressed in the workplace is not really in-depth enough.

On the positive side, I did learn a bit about a few things I was not previously aware of, such as plaiting. There’s definitely some fascinating nuggets of information in here scattered throughout.

There’s certainly something to be learnt here, and I appreciate the author delving into something so complex and trying to tackle it head-on, but I feel like it could have been a bit more detailed and specific to the subject matter. This is a great introductory piece, but I wouldn’t recommend it as much for someone looking to get something more detailed on the subject.

This is a fantastic and fascinating book! It tells of how women were shown behind the scenes while men got the credit. I loved it! This ARC was given to me in exchange for an honest review. This review is mine.

Written in a pleasant, conversational manner, this book gingerly touches on several forms of work women have done through history — both domestic and not, both respectable and not. however, it doesn’t really do anything more. While this could be useful for a High School student or maybe Middle School (though there is a section on prostitution, including mentions of child prostitution), there wasn’t anything in here that I hadn’t already read in various other places.

There’s also a very British focus with careers and lifestyles from London and other parts of England, and no mention of other cultures where women’s work might have been different or at least more varied. It’s … it’s fine. But it’s not much more than that, and there’s no overarching message or purpose to the book other than to say: Here are 23 chapters of women working!

But a listicle on Buzzfeed would at least have had some rise in tension; the last one would have been shocking or informative, and the whole thing would have been written to be engaging. This is boring, and it stops rather than ends with a sour splat of wet clay and a story about a woman being treated poorly. What am I supposed to take away from this? That women get the short end of the stick? That work sucks, that men suck, that life is unfair? What is the author trying to say?

While there’s a section near the end on the Women’s Suffrage moment, the book isn’t interested in what came after or how that shaped women’s lives. It moves on from Suffrage and the rise of women’s colleges (and both of these are very short chapters) to go back to the 1850s and a sob story about a woman painter.

Again, a younger audience might be more interested in this, an audience not familiar with history or women’s rights, or feminism, or world building or period pieces or historical romances. Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the ARC.

We need these kinds of books more than ever right now. It was a fun read, both heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time, teaching me so much and reminding me of amazing knowledge I already held. I will be buying the print version!

I applaud any work which is revisionist history, to the extent that it gives due credit to the role of women. For centuries, social history is largely explored from the male perspective, with a few notable exceptions. Women, from the dawn of time, have been part of the fabric of every society but their contributions are largely ignored or undervalued.

Janet Few provides a broad and fascinating insight into a diverse range of activities where women are key, I’ve learned a lot about odd things like button making, straw plaiting, flax mills, wool combing and cloth dyeing. Facts are presented in context and throughout there are references to individuals stories which bring the text to life. The research is extensive and backed up with a lengthy bibliography, source material and there’s a compressive index. I particularly enjoyed the photos and pictures of people, places and artefacts. This is a fulsome social history, a real taster for anyone who enjoys delving into the past in a meaningful way, easy to read and I enjoyed it.
My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with this arc, I thoroughly enjoyed it!

The history of women's work is a long one; since the dawn of time we have technically been working as mothers, wives and dutiful daughters whose (in men's minds at least) only purpose was to obey their fathers and continue the family bloodline. In Janet Few's brilliant novel, we are able to take a closer look into the intricate details of women's work throughout the years with more than some of it still relevant and existing in today's society. With this being my first introduction to Janet, I am eager to see what else she can bring to the table about the history of women and their work.

Janet Few’s book, A History of Women's Work: The Evolution of Women's Working Lives is a book aimed at people who want to understand a bit more about their female ancestors’ lives. It is not a book for historians who want a detailed analysis of how occupations have been impacted by legislation; and how such legislation impacted women.

There are 23 short chapters of about half a dozen pages each, each covering an aspect of women’s work. Notice that I don’t say “jobs.” That’s because some of the chapters cover what women did in the home, e.g. rather than what they did as paid labour. The book describes weaving techniques rather than the Factories Acts; how housewives would wash various types of clothing rather than how commercial laundries operated. One chapter gives a fairly superficial history of women’s suffrage. It’s the only chapter that mentions experiences outside the UK and that aspect feels shoe-horned in. If we are not told about overseas servants and glove-makers, why mention them in the chapter upon women getting the vote? The chapter could also have discussed women’s experiences pre-1918 in local government (both as voters and as candidates).

However, this book is still useful for social, rather than family, historians. Although the chapter text may be of mild interest to the former, the bibliography is extensive, listing both primary sources such as Hannah Woolley’s The Compleat Servant-maid of 1719; and solid secondary sources like Patricia Malcolmson’s English Laundresses 1850-1930. It also gives the National Archives class references for various archives.

#AHistoryofWomensWork #NetGalley

A fascinating look at the work women have done over the years. The sections were large enough to be informative but short enough to keep it from getting boring. I loved the addition of the pictures in the back of the book!

If ancestry intrigues you and you have discovered an antecedent with an interesting occupation you want to know more about, then this is the book for you. This easy-to-read account details the working lives of several occupations that were open to women in previous centuries. From match girls to Majolica, from straw plaiters to servants, there is a cornucopia of facts and lesser known titbits which bring the reality of these jobs to life.
For examples, did you know that the nursery rhyme, “Jack be nimble, Jack be quick” was actually an old lacemaker’s song? And that in the Victorian period, one-third of all women aged 15-25 were in domestic service?
You will discover extinct occupations, which once dominated the economy of certain regions, for example the straw plaiter. Once a major industry, whole families could be involved from harvesting the straw, to splitting, weaving, and then selling the finished product. Indeed, straw hats being such a thing, that in 1689 straw plaiters petitioned against a new law which would have stipulated the wearing of woollen hats at certain times of the year. And how’s this for a piece of trivia, poor quality weaving that couldn’t be sold was known as ‘widdle-waddle’.
In the modern world Health & Safety can seem like onerous admin. But for workers in the past there was no such thing and H&S. Most occupations came with health hazards (even straw plaiting where very sharp knives were used to split the straw.) For example, the popular pottery called Majolica owed its vibrant colours to a high lead content. This lead got on workers’ hand, was in a dust in the air, and got on their clothes; and lead toxicity was common amongst the workers.
I wiled away several pleasant hours immersing myself in this book, and recommend it for anyone curious about women’s work in the past or wanting to put meat on the bones of an intriguing ancestor.
PS Isn’t that cover just gorgeous?

A fascinating read! It was jam packed with information about women's roles that have been overlooked throughout history, their impact on society and how they have changed over time.
Some chapters were particularly enlightening such as the one of the match girls.

It was written in a way that was super easy to follow. Even though it covers a lot of history, it never felt dry or overwhelming.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher.
4/5 ⭐️

I really enjoyed this one. It has some fascinating facts about the lives of women and girls throughout history, particularly British history. It has well-documented and intriguing stories of real women. I loved reading this.
Some highlights: fishermen's wives, matchstick girls, and making clothing for the family. I enjoyed the personal/real stories of various women as it give an excellent perspective.
Thank you so much for this copy to review!

A History of Women's Work is an utterly enthralling and fascinating book about women in a man's world from a historical perspective. Women have been...and in some cases still are...considered second-rate citizens so have had to work extra hard to find their footing. Author Janet Few details many fascinating jobs and tasks performed by women in a time when laundry meant painstaking and backbreaking work. During the world wars, the Women's Land Army were responsible for planting and harvesting crops, animal husbandry, dairying, controlling pests and forestry management. Women became teachers and nurses, others worked in mills and still others in industry making clothing, lace and pottery. Often jobs were extremely dangerous, especially those in munitions factories.

Amongst the most interesting (and sometimes heartbreaking) topics in my view include child labour, suffragettes, glove tax, factory acts, and creating Leek Buttons. I had not heard of Leek Buttons before. Multiple photographs give breath to the information and stories. In addition to the detailed content, I enjoyed the accessible writing. These astonishing women were real-life heroines.

This was a fun, quick read that exposes the reader to the various roles women have played throughout history. And by 'work', the book doesn’t just mean traditional careers. It also highlights the countless tasks women did (and still do!) for themselves, their homes and their families.

The historical focus is mainly focused on women in England with a few nods to other countries and cultures sprinkled in. With some exceptions, most chapters center on the period from the 1500s onward, with a lot more focus on the 19th century.

The material is presented in the form of mostly standalone chapters that read almost like mini-articles. Each one spotlights a different job or task or role. They work great as quick introductions to their topics. Personally, I was especially into the cheese-making and dairy chapter (what can I say? I love cheese. Cheese = joy).

Seeing that I read a lot of history and historical fiction books (especially around the 19th century), most of the content was already familiar to me. That said, I still picked up a few facts along the way especially about the less commonly discussed occupations such as 'Straw Plaiting'.

At first, I thought the chapters were arranged in a specific order or followed a theme, but that didn’t really seem to be the case (at least in the ARC I received!). This means that you could totally dip in and out, jumping to whatever chapter catches your eye. Especially that the chapters are mostly short (around ten pages or so).

Some chapters also feature stories about real woman from history. I especially loved those as they were often about lesser-known, everyday women that most history books tend to ignore. I wish there were more of those as I think I only read these in a few chapters.

All in all, I recommend this to anyone who's dipping their toes into learning about women's roles throughout history. It's fun, quick and would be easy to pick up whenever you have a few minutes to spare.