I appreciate the publisher allowing me to read this book. Though I wish a few of the stories were longer I enjoyed all four

It was such an interesting book, full of facts from the lives of those women, a book with extensive research. I will definitely recommend it.

This book reads a lot more academic than I expected. It is chock full of great information, but the style of writing is lacking. I think it could be a good book, but I'm not the intended audience.

Fascinating look at these unmarried women I was totally absorbed going back in time to enter their lives.Each womans life had an interesting story to tell.If you love history a woman’s place in society I highly recommend this book,#betgalley#penn&sword

Unmarried Women of the Country Estate by Charlotte Furness is a really different kind of book I have ever read. It was different as in it concentrates on four different womens lives . The time period is different as in the different years as you will see how things had changed over the years with each women. The time period covers from the 17th -20th centuries so saying that you can and will see the changes,not only in the world but what women believed or didn't believe, what they were allowed and not allowed to do...and what each of these four women themselves, what their views were and are and not! Have to say it was really interesting emotional and spiritual. The characters of these women you will see through this writer's amazing writing. Grab some tissues as I did and see what all their reasons are and were for all that they did in and with their lives and why! I don't think I have read this authors work before but I will look her up because I think this is a very well written and exciting and emotional story of each of these well known women that I had never heard of before but I do now so yes,I learned from this book and thankful for the century that I as a woman live in now!!😁😁 Received from Net Gallery!

This was a very interesting and emotional and thought provoking book about women's history. Very much recommended!!

Books which focus on fascinating and enterprising women in the past lure me in. The author researched four women, spanning 1608 to 1949, different eras with the common thread of remaining single in times when it was highly unusual. All four wrote candidly about their lives and those around them in splendid detail. Thankfully the author researched these compelling women so in depth! I was drawn to each of the four stories and could clearly envision them.

The first woman, Elizabeth Isham, chose God over marriage and chronicles her relationship with God beautifully. Ann Robinson chose to nanny her brother-in-law's children after her beloved sister died. Anne Lister was a business woman and was involved in the mining industry and politics. She chose a woman. Rosalie Chichester loved animals and nature and taught botany. She traveled extensively.

Be sure to read the author's notes where she discusses shedding light on lesser-known women in history. She also includes issues which affected these woman...and are still relevant today, including depression and lesbianism.

All four women deserve further research. I wish to learn more! This makes me curious about the thousands of stories we have yet to learn about others in history. Such a breath of fresh air!

Thank you to the author, Charlotte Furness, Pen & Sword and NetGalley for the pleasure of this delightful book!

I really wanted to like this book, it has everything that I'm interested in, social history, heritage, country houses and the stories behind them.
I'm happy reading wordy books, I love Virginia Woolf, but this book? My goodness, it needs some editing if it's to be enjoyed by anyone other than an academic.

It reads like a PhD dissertation, the paragraphs are huge, it's wordy, packed with hugely detailed information, that blasts the reader with dates, names and reference points at every turn. I'm all for detail and research, but in a book like this, I'm looking for a narrative, something that gives me the story rather than just facts and facts in such fine detail that you and skip four pages and not have moved on from where you left off.

The author clearly has undertaken an enormous amount of study to achieve this book and a huge credit to them for doing so. For the academic study, it will be invaluable, as a book to be read and inform someone who has an interest and is keen to learn and understand the subject this is way too heavy going.

With some judicious editing and the addition of a more accessible narrative, this has the potential to be an excellent book. As it stands its lacking readability, which is a real shame.

This is a great introductory book about prominent unmarried historical women, and how they defied convention. Of the four, I only knew a bit about Anne Lister beforehand, and she’s probably the best known of the four. I like that it is well researched, and takes into account the wider context of the times, such as the privileges class afforded them.

This was a good look at four women who, each for their own reasons, remained unmarried despite society (and occasionally family) pressure to conform and marry. Elizabeth Isham (1604-1654), Anne Robinson (1742-1828), Anne Lister (1791-1840), and Rosalie Chichester (1865-1949) were each members of the nobility or gentry and each generally had the means to support themselves in their chosen state. Author Charlotte Furness agrees that this is only a small look at how and why women might remain unmarried during these times, and that certainly women with less financial security would have to make other choices. But these looks into both the lives of the women through letters and diary entries, and the social and religious time period they lived in, give readers interesting insights. Furness supplies excellent bibliographies for readers interested in learning more about any of the women, claiming from the beginning that her book is more an introduction to the women, their society, and the search to understand the unmarried women of the time than the be-all, end-all book on the subject. I thought she did an excellent job covering a lot of ground in a few pages, and will be certain to follow up this book with some of her suggested books from the bibliographies.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Unfortunately this wasn't the book for me. While as the author states this is an introduction to the topic, and would make a good introduction to someone preparing to look into the topic of marriage across the centuries and the remarkable women talked about in this book, I felt that it did not quite live up to the synopsis. In many places as well it felt as though it could have used more detail or depth, even just a brief look at secondary sources and other research around the topic, even allowing for it being an introduction. The writing style also felt a little stiff/formal, which left the text dry and I will admit that it was a struggle to finish this one. However, that said, I do feel it would be a good introduction for someone with more interest in the periods/topic.

This is a well-intentioned book that is also, unfortunately an object lesson in what happens when writers without training in history, gender studies, or related fields take on complex historical matters. Author Furness uses mostly primary sources, largely ignoring the vast and important body of scholarly literature already about this topic. Furness's long quotes from the primary sources go uncontextualized; the author often simply sums these up by simply stating that they are important, but never delves into why they are important, leaving these claims unexplored and unsupported. The lives of these women are important--as many historians have written. I wish Furness had read their work before or while writing this.

Given what I know about health care in the centuries prior to WW2, I really don't blame women for remaining single if they had the option! These women did have the option and chose different paths. Good for them! Too many women didn't have options and life could be difficult and cruel. It's an interesting book. I had always assumed those women remained single for other reasons, primarily the shortage of suitable men. But also little dowry, maybe sexual orientation, taking vows in a church order, etc... The book only covers 4 women from 1608-1949. Short and interesting read.

There are no words to describe books that define a certain topic in different centuries and this book delivered.

I found each woman to be unique, either with their personalities or stories.

This is a very well presented book!
(Although I prefer when the pictures are included in the text rather than at the end, but it takes nothing away from this book)

This a good introduction to the history of marriage in the 17th, 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries. It is a short book that works well at introducing the topics at play when you consider the lives and impact of Elizabeth Isham, Anne Robinson, Anne Lister and Rosalie Chichester, all incredibly interesting and important women. Furness doesn't shy away from the influence of class on the women's' experiences and does a good job of summarising the lives of the four women. This book is perfect for someone new to the historical period and subject.

I really enjoyed reading about these four very interesting women! The only one I knew of previously was Anne Lister, but I was fascinated to read about Elizabeth Isham, Anne Robinson, and Rosalie Chichester as well. The text was engaging and informative, and I had no difficulties following along. I also enjoyed the supplementary information given not just about their lives, but the lives of women in general for their respective eras.

Thank you to Netgalley, Pen and Sword, and Charlotte Furness for this copy of Unmarried Women of the Country Estate!

This is fascinating. A study of four women with different lives but some things in common, including the repressive treatment of women by society. Obviously well researched, this book bridged the gap between academia and a simply entertaining read. The four case studies are distinct but taken together give a social history of the time. At times reverting to prose reminiscent of a PhD thesis, which seemed a little at odd with trying to demonstrate the personalities of the women, this is nevertheless well worth reading.