Book Review: Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History

The phrase “Well-behaved Women Rarely Make History” is one I’ve heard many times, but did you know the phrase coined by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich actually uses the word “seldom” instead of “rarely”.  No matter the technicality, it retains the same meaning.   Looking back over time, it seems women are mentioned in the history books only when they are doing something society considers “ill-behaved”.  Women who are deemed “mad”, women who ban together and overthrow power sources, women who defy rules and take justice into their own hands.  These are the women who make history.

This book is a “must read” for Revolutionaries!

Laurel takes a fascinating approach to this interesting pattern of women’s history.  Her main focus is on three historical women who themselves noticed this pattern and took to writing about it.  While excerpts from several books are mentioned, three standout at the foundation of this book. They are The Book of the City of Ladies by Fifteenth-century writer Christine de Pizan, who created a world where women achieved power and influence; the memoir of renowned women’s right suffragist Elizabeth Cady Stanton titled Eighty Years and More; and free-thinking novelist Virginia Woolfe’s A Room of One’s Own.  Through the exploration of their writings, Laurel weaves a most-intriguing mural of women’s history as seen from the written point of view.  These women often noted and referred to historical writings where women, if mentioned at all, were usually listed in a shameful or derogatory way.

If you haven’t the time to digest any of these classic women’s history books as a whole, at least grab a copy of Well-behaved Women Seldom Make History by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich. It is truly an inspiring piece of work. I have learned so much about women’s history from this book alone and it has motivated me to seek out many of the books referenced by the author.  More reviews will be forthcoming as I begin diving into further reading based on tidbits from this book.