The biographical dictionary of Scottish women : from the earliest times to 2004

'The Biographical Dictionary of Scottish Women is a tour de force of scholarship, commitment, canny decision-making, and unstinting effort on the part of the editors and their 280 contributors. It replaces well-worn generalities and nagging gaps with sprightly details and moving stories. What the editors call "the remembered Scottish past" has just become exponentially richer. -- Christine Bold Times Literary Supplement A splendid book, with fascinating lives on every page -- Ian Jack The Guardian A landmark in the development of Scottish historical studies." -- Christopher A Whatley In spite of the recent explosion of Scottish historiography, few would deny that there is still a huge amount to be done. With The Biographical Dictionary of Scottish Women there is a great leap forward. It pushes out the frontiers not because it is a book about women, but because it tells us so much about Scotland's people. By shining a light on the lives of 830 women, it illuminates social relationships! It is an extraordinarily moving book, not only because it gives us so wide-ranging a picture of female activity and achievement, but because these dictionary entries convey, remarkably, a real sense of flesh and blood, and of Scottish society, especially over the last 400 years! Each entry has been given sufficient space to tell a real story, and the 280 contributors have responded to that opportunity. The result is a collection of narratives that meld into something much more than a reference book. It is a magnificent memorial to the late Sue Innes, one of the book's editors and instigators. -- Jenni Calder The Scotsman Must surely represent one of the most important landmarks in Scottish publishing history! The Biographical Dictionary of Scottish Women is a unique contribution to the study of Scottish women's biography and an outstanding reference work which yields discoveries on every page... no home in Scotland should be without a copy. The Biographical Dictionary of Scottish Women is not just about Scottish women but about the wider, and under-told, story of Scotland itself. -- Iain Hutchison I found myself inflicted by the minor trauma one suffers in reading a good reference tome -- head full of page numbers to flick to next, fingers in an implausible tort, keeping pages marked, making notes on a newspaper of entries to check out later. -- Roddy Lumsden BooksfromScotland.com The Biographical Dictionary of Scottish Women has been awaited with anticipation for some time... The Biographical Dictionary of Scottish Women is not just about Scottish women but about the wider, and under-told, story of Scotland itself. -- Ian C. Hutchison, University of Stirling Scottish Studies Review 'The Biographical Dictionary of Scottish Women is a tour de force of scholarship, commitment, canny decision-making, and unstinting effort on the part of the editors and their 280 contributors. It replaces well-worn generalities and nagging gaps with sprightly details and moving stories. What the editors call "the remembered Scottish past" has just become exponentially richer. A splendid book, with fascinating lives on every page A landmark in the development of Scottish historical studies." In spite of the recent explosion of Scottish historiography, few would deny that there is still a huge amount to be done. With The Biographical Dictionary of Scottish Women there is a great leap forward. It pushes out the frontiers not because it is a book about women, but because it tells us so much about Scotland's people. By shining a light on the lives of 830 women, it illuminates social relationships! It is an extraordinarily moving book, not only because it gives us so wide-ranging a picture of female activity and achievement, but because these dictionary entries convey, remarkably, a real sense of flesh and blood, and of Scottish society, especially over the last 400 years! Each entry has been given sufficient space to tell a real story, and the 280 contributors have responded to that opportunity. The result is a collection of narratives that meld into something much more than a reference book. It is a magnificent memorial to the late Sue Innes, one of the book's editors and instigators. Must surely represent one of the most important landmarks in Scottish publishing history! The Biographical Dictionary of Scottish Women is a unique contribution to the study of Scottish women's biography and an outstanding reference work which yields discoveries on every page... no home in Scotland should be without a copy. The Biographical Dictionary of Scottish Women is not just about Scottish women but about the wider, and under-told, story of Scotland itself. I found myself inflicted by the minor trauma one suffers in reading a good reference tome -- head full of page numbers to flick to next, fingers in an implausible tort, keeping pages marked, making notes on a newspaper of entries to check out later. The Biographical Dictionary of Scottish Women has been awaited with anticipation for some time... The Biographical Dictionary of Scottish Women is not just about Scottish women but about the wider, and under-told, story of Scotland itself. Read more...