The collection is an outgrowth of an October 1997 conference in Italy in which some 30 Italian, French, German, Austrian, and US scholars addressed problems associated with time and space in
women’s lives in early modern Europe. The organizers conceived their agenda in terms of the female life cycle, from birth to old age and death, and the social and physical spaces where women
lived and influenced their communities and families. The 16 papers address both theoretical issues in the historical study of women and also specific relations between the sexes and the
construction of ＂femaleness＂ and ＂maleness.＂ The women under discussion fall into a variety of situations: from noblewomen of Florence, Venice, Rome, and England to women who took religious
vows and members of the Salzburg bourgeoisie. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
