Oxford University Press's Very Short Introductions is a useful series. The books can rapidly introduce people to a given subject, in a readable and accessible way. I'm sorry to report that what should have been one of the best and most important works in the series--Feminism--is among Oxford's worst offerings. It is a great letdown. This diservice to readers desparately needs to be replaced.



My review of this book is not a reflection on Professor Walters, nor on her narrative. Dr. Walters competently reviews a number of leading English women and gives glimpses into the ways in which they advanced feminist thought. I particularly enjoyed reading her remarks about Mary Wollstonecraft. Dr. Walters is a clear writer who is well-acquainted with the history of feminism in England. However, Oxford chose not to market this book under its true auspices: "Feminist Women of England: A Very Short Introduction." Rather, OUP mislabled the book, presumably so as to mass market it.



Unfortunately, this isn't a book about *feminism*! It is only is a set of bios about English feminists and proto-feminists. The book offers little insight into major feminists from other lands, nor does it reflect on key historical moments, nor does it provide an overview of feminist theory! A basic book of feminism should, at the very least, consider the gendered division of labor, discussions of the body, notes on the intersection of gender and race/sexuality/class, and insight into to momentous thresholds in theory and politics. With all due respect to the author and the press, this book utterly fails to live up to its title.