![](http://static.cambridge.org/content/id/urn:cambridge.org:id:book:9781782049944/resource/name/9781782049944i.jpg)
- Publisher:
- Boydell & Brewer
- Online publication date:
- August 2017
- Print publication year:
- 2017
- Online ISBN:
- 9781782049944
22 August 2024: Due to technical disruption, we are experiencing some delays to publication. We are working to restore services and apologise for the inconvenience. For further updates please visit our website: https://www.cambridge.org/universitypress/about-us/news-and-blogs/cambridge-university-press-publishing-update-following-technical-disruption
Widows are often viewed as being marginalised in society, struggling to make a living and in need of financial and other support. However, as this extensively researched and wide-ranging book reveals, widows did, in fact, engage very effectively in economic activity, often being in charge of families, households and commercial enterprises. The book outlines how extensive widowhood was; examines the provisions made for the support of widows, including in the form of marriage contracts, dowries and charitable assistance; and provides numerous examples of widows being economically active, paying their way and involving themselves energetically in society - one notable example being Barbe-Nicole Clicquot, who established a very successful company producing La Veuve Clicquot champagne. Using statistical analysis and individual case studies, the book contrasts the situation in different parts of Europe, and between rural and urban areas, and shows how provision for widows both in law and in practice evolved over time. Overall, it contributes a great deal to women's history, helping to correct the image that women were victims of male society, and to family history, showing that exceptions to the "ideal" nuclear family were very common. BEATRICE MORING is Associate Professor in the Department of Political and Economic Studies at the University of Helsinki. RICHARD WALL was a Senior Research Fellow in the Department of History at the University of Essex.
* Views captured on Cambridge Core between #date#. This data will be updated every 24 hours.
Usage data cannot currently be displayed.