In this post Hannah Jeans introduces her new book—'Reading, Gender and Identity in Seventeenth-Century England'—which is published in the Society's 'New Historical Perspectives' series with University of London Press. Hannah's book explores traditional views of reading in the seventeenth century and challenges the enduring binaries of 'good' and 'bad' literature or 'active' and 'passive' reading. In their place, Hannah views the activity from the multiple perspectives of seventeenth-century women readers. Through an investigation of women readers' personal engagement with literature, the book extends our understanding of women's reading habits and the place of reading in the development of self-identities. 'Reading, Gender and Identity in Seventeenth-Century England' is the 22nd title in the Society's New Historical Perspectives series and, like other NHP titles is published free, Open Access, and in paperback print. 

Women's and gender history are well-established and vibrant fields of research. In schools, by contrast, the presence of women is far more limited, especially for those teaching and studying the pre-modern period. In this post, Natasha Hodgson considers the scale of this deficit and some of the barriers preventing the take up of new work in schools history. As a co-founder of the Teaching Medieval Women group, Natasha considers the negative implications of school curricula that fail to pay sufficient attention to the place of women as subjects of historical study. In the midst of the government's curriculum and assessment review, Natasha's post also provides examples of Teaching Medieval Women's engagement with schools to enhance students' understanding of women's place and prominence in pre-modern societies, and the value of this work.

In this post, Rachel E. Johnson introduces her new book — 'Voice, Silence and Gender in South Africa’s Anti-Apartheid Struggle. The Shadow of a Young Woman' — which is published in the Society's 'New Historical Perspectives' series with University of London Press. Central to the monograph is the figure of Mary Masabata Loate. Between 1976 and 1986, Masabata Loate appears in court records and newspaper articles as a school student activist, a beauty queen, a terrorism suspect, a political prisoner and finally a murder victim. While lacking lacked the materials to write a conventional life, Rachel has created what she terms 'a shadow biography' of this young woman. Rachel's monograph is the 21st title in the Society's 'New Historical Perspectives' series for early career historians.