The latest title in Crabtree’s Historic Communities series will be welcomed by teachers looking for support materials for presenting 19th-century history. Unfortunately, its plodding, uninvolving text keeps this book from becoming anything more than a supplementary resource for history lessons. The text describes the lives of women in the 19th century, covering daily life, education, courtship, employment, clothing,and more. The development of the movement for women’s rights is outlined, and short biographies of famous women such as Susan B. Anthony, Harriet Tubman, and Mary Anne Shadd are included, as are a glossary and index. The visuals – a rather jarring combination of photographs, oil paintings, and unattractive drawings – do little to brighten the text. Although Emily Stowe is presented in the biography section, the focus is blandly North American, with no Canadian emphasis or any other geographical shadings. This book may be useful as a piece of support material for teaching history, but it lacks any spark that would make kids actually enjoy reading it on their own.