These essays examine the lives of elderly women and attitudes towards them from 1500 to the present. They shed light on the process of industrialisation and welfare provision and question many common assumptions about elderly women.

Women have always made up the majority of older people: this examination of the lives of elderly women in Britain in the period 1500 to the present reveals attitudes towards the ageing process. It sheds light on household structures as well as wider issues - including the history of the family, the process of industrialisation, the poor law, and welfare provision - and questions many common beliefs about elderly women, particularly that female old age was a time of poverty and want. An important book for students of history and sociology alike.

"A fine collection...excellent introduction to the state of an academic field" Colleen Seguin, Valparaiso University