Scholars in various branches of the humanities convened in July 2000, presumably at the University of Otago, to celebrate the work of New Zealand historian Page, and there presented early drafts of the 11 essays presented here. Among their topics are the communities of 13th- century holy woman Ida of Nivelles, ladies' benevolence in the New Zealand setting, and women factory inspectors in Britain from 1893 to 1921. Distributed in the US by ISBS. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
The sense of belonging to a community is fundamental, but it is not tied to a locality; it exists in the mind. Communities can be vast - empires, nations, a huge religious community - or small isolated groups. What distinguishes them is the style in which they are imagined. This book explores communities that are small-scale, of peripheral importance in the broad flow of history, and usually informal in their organization. Sometimes they are simple clusters of women. In time and place, they range from 12th century Swabia to 20th century Australasia. They are equally varied in their focus, whether on place, kin, romance, religion, dispossession, education, occupation or political commitment. What they share is that they are communities of women.
