“[A] stimulating examination. . . . Succeeds in illuminating new aspects of women’s reform efforts.” — CHOICE
“Beautifully written and cogently argued. . . . Anyone interested in antebellum politics, social reform, or women’s activism will find this book. . . . [a] superb history.” — American Historical Review
“Boylan’s narrative of women and associational activity gives meaning to the word definitive. In compelling portraits of individuals and widely ranging analysis, we see the galvanizing force of 'women’s activism' writ large.” — Journal of American History
“[The Origins of Women’s Activism: New York and Boston, 1797-1840] is the definitive history of the emergence and maturation of women’s organizations in the key cities of New York and Boston in the early nineteenth century. . . . Brilliant and path-breaking work.” — H-SHEAR
“Important revelations emerge from this comprehensive study. . . . One hopes that others will walk through the door [Boylan] has opened by the inclusion of Catholics to begin to write women’s history in which discussions of gender include the impact of distinctive Catholic values, practices, and institutions.” — Catholic Historical Review
“By combining exhaustive research on seventy-seven organizations and 1,142 individuals with a mastery of the secondary literature, [Boylan] weaves her history of women’s organizations and gender ideology into the tapestry of economic booms and busts, religious revivals and rivalries, developing class consciousness, immigration, and shifting political power that characterized the period.” — History of Education Quarterly
“Fine, innovative study. . . . With its wide-ranging research, persuasive argument, and clear prose, Boylan’s book deserves an honored place next to the now-classic works.” — Historian
“Important and engagingly written.” — Maryland Historical Magazine
“Boylan has written the definitive history of antebellum women’s organizations in New York and Boston. . . . The richness of detail is extraordinary, as is the complexity of the story that Boylan tells. . . . Boylan has written a history of antebellum women’s organizations that sets the standard in the field.” — New England Quarterly
“Boylan’s latest book has . . . added significant new insights and a broader angle of vision to the history of women’s benevolent activism.” — Journal of Interdisciplinary History
