Abstracts of Books

Alice Bach, ed. Women in the Hebrew Bible: A Reader. New York: Routledge, 1999. xxvi + 539 pp. ISBN 0-415-91560-0 (cl); 0-415-91561-9 (pb).

This anthology of cross-disciplinary scholarship presents thirty-four critical essays and two bibliographies, which examine the role of women in the Hebrew Bible. The contributions situate women within social, cultural, and literary milieus of the period and reflect contemporary feminist approaches to the subject matter. Contents are grouped under headings that reflect these interests, and five essays focus on the ritual of the Sotah (a trial by ordeal applied to a woman accused of adultery). Apart from Edward L. Greenstein's piece, all essays have been published previously, and some contributors (Phyllis Bird, Susan Ackerman, Esther Fuchs, and Alice Bach) have multiple inclusions in this collection. In addition, two bibliographies offer scholarship from the last thirty years.------Cynthia L. Wittman Zollinger

Christine Daniels and Michael V. Kennedy, eds. Over the Threshold: Intimate Violence in Early America. New York: Routledge, 1999. viii + 296 pp.; ill.; tables; no bibliography. ISBN 0-415-91804-9 (cl); 0-415-91805-7 (pb).

This collection of fifteen original essays explores the theme of violence within the early American household in four sections--"Overviews"; "Husbands, Wives, and Lovers"; "Parents and Children"; and "Masters, Servants, and Slaves." Daniels provides a general overview, which also introduces the volume. G. S. Rowe and Jack D. Marietta survey Pennsylvania, 1682 to 1801, and Jacquelyn C. Miller examines eighteenth-century Philadelphia. Section 2 treats the antebellum South in terms of masculinity (Edward E. Baptist and Ed Hatton) and the law (Stephanie Cole); other essays cover spousal murder in New England (Randolph Roth) and an exposé of domestic abuse on the 1830s frontier (Jennifer Banks). Infanticide (Merrill D. Smith), the murder of an adopted daughter (James D. Rice), and an 1812 novel (Jeffrey H. Richards) constitute the "Parents and Children" section. Terri L. Snyder on violence against female servants in pre-1720 Virginia and Trevor Burnard on a Jamaican overseer shift the volume's focus away from the postrevolutionary period. Articles on slave violence against masters (T. Stephen Whitman) and abuse within slave families (Christopher Morris) add new twists.------Carla Gardina Pestana

Jacqueline Eales. Women in Early Modern England, 1500-1700. London: University College London Press, 1998. viii + 133 pp. ISBN 1-85728-268-X (pb).

In ten chapters, Eales surveys the breadth of current historical scholarship on women's lives in early modern England, beginning with a historiographical discussion of topics considered in the past. Under the combined influence of feminist studies and social history, Eales also investigates economic status, women's role in the family, crime and the legal system, politics, and literacy and education. A recurring theme of the book is competing contemporary views of women. There were two idealized images: a woman who ignored religion, lacked male guidance, and was a potential source of disorder; and a women who internalized religious precepts and was obedient to a male head of a household. Against these tropes were the actual experiences of women who were independent actors influencing family decisions and who were able to use the court system to defend their honor among other deeds.------Matthew P. Romaniello

Linda Eisenmann, ed. Historical Dictionary of Women's Education in the United States. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1998. xx + 534 pp. ISBN 0-313-29323-6 (cl).

This reference book consists of 245 short essays spanning from the 1600s to the present on "significant events, ideas, movements, institutions, and people" related to women's educational history in the United States (vii). Arranged alphabetically, the essays cover such diverse topics as official policy (e.g., the Smith-Hughes Act of 1917), women's colleges (e.g., Wellesley College), and women's associations (e.g., National Council of Negro Women). Although most entries focus on white women and girls due to the nature of the available scholarship, entries on women of different races and ethnicities are also included. Each entry provides a brief bibliography, listing the works...