"This is an excellent collection of essays, showing the contribution that women of all stations and races made to the development of the Southeast. Most of these stories have not been told before."--John Salmond, LaTrobe University, Melbourne, Australia

"More and more, the lives of southern women, African American women, Jewish women, etc., are being told, and this only adds to the American historical narrative. Surely the fact that many of these individuals rose above their circumstances to achieve myriad accomplishments that contributed to the progress of the nation in the post-emancipation era is worth noting."--Shannon L. Frystak, East Stroudsburg University

The contributors to The Varieties of Women's Experiences offer fourteen brief biographical essays revealing the broad range of the fascinating lives lived by women in the post-Civil War South. Arranged chronologically, they chart a course of generational change, yet reveal that despite limitations there were always more opportunities for extraordinary women than we tend to realize.

By including stories about white and black, Jew and gentile, rich and poor, native and immigrant, widowed and married, the book explores the diversity and complexity of what it could mean to be a "Southern woman" at a time when social norms restricted many to their household and wifely duties.

A welcome addition to the literature on Southern women's history, this book will appeal to a broad range of readers.

Larry Eugene Rivers, president of Fort Valley State University (Georgia), has written numerous books, including Slavery in Florida. Canter Brown Jr., professor of history and executive vice president and chief legal officer at Fort Valley State University, is the author of Florida’s Peace River Frontier, among other works. Together, they are coauthors of Laborers in the Vineyard of the Lord and For a Great and Grand Purpose.

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"Well researched and thoroughly grounded in surviving primary sources, these essays reveal that Florida and Georgia women's experiences in the century following the Civil War were similar to many of their counterparts in other southern states who have received much more attention from historians." "Offer(s) rich examples of the variety of women's contributions that should inform studies of the Guilded Age and Progressive-era South and encourage future study of Florida's vibrant women's history."
--Florida Historical Quarterly

"A valuable reference that will enable readers to understand more fully the complexity and richness of the lives of southern women following the Civil War and into the twentieth century. A praiseworthy effort that adds to our knowledge of southern women."
--H-Net Reviews: H-SAWH