The Science of Woman
Gynaecology and Gender in England, 1800–1929

"...informative, scholarly, and fascinating." Science Books & Films

"This is an exemplary piece of medical-cultural history." Mary Poovey, Bulletin of the History of Medicine

"...the work is scholarly and well written, providing a social history of the evolution of a medical specialty usually neglected by historians. As such, it is a welcome addition." The Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine

"...a highly accomplished book which actually includes two separate treatises--a brief and powerful feminist polemic, followed by a more cautious traditional history." Florence Boos, The Women's Review of Books

"...an important addition both to the study of nineteenth-century medicine and the development of ideas about women." Victorian Studies

"...at once thoroughly conventional in its methods and unusually provocative in its findings." Lynn K. Nyhart, Signs

"Issues surrounding the emergence of obstetrics and gynecology as a specialty are dealt with in a factual yet thoroughly readable manner. The volume is carefully annotated, and an extensive bibliography is provided, allowing those with a special interest in one or another aspect of the history of the field to pursue issues of greater depth." Luigi Mastroianni, Jr., Academic Medicine

"The value of Moscucci's approach is that she has provided a detailed picture of the development of gynaecological practice. She also has drawn a wonderfully rich picture of the belief systems and scientific world systems held by a distinctive, yet hitherto little-known group of medical men." New Scientist

"...an intriguing mixture of feminist theory and restrained polemic about the social and cultural determinants of biomedical thought and practice, and a straightforward chronological account of the evolution of gynaecology as a field of medical specialization....a work that not only adds a stimulating perspective to feminist and medical history, but also provides important insights into the broader question of the rise (and specialization) of the professions during the past two centuries." Richard Soloway, Journal of Interdisciplinary History