In 1848 one of the first female inspectors appointed by the French state argued that ‘the inspection of nursery schools can be done usefully and correctly only by women … Inspectresses will intimidate less and will persuade more readily than men can.’ Her statement points to the ambiguous position of many working women in the nineteenth century. Working outside what was perceived as a feminine domestic sphere, their employment was justified with reference to a domestic ideal of femininity. Though each has a different focus, the three books reviewed here all demonstrate how ideas about the nature of women served both to extend and to limit women's opportunities in nineteenth- and twentieth-century France and Europe.