Book excerpt: In this groundbreaking work, Caroline Sheridan Norton explores the social, legal, and political landscape of 19th century Britain from the perspective of women's rights and gender equality. Providing fascinating insights into the evolving role of women in British society, this book remains a landmark work in the field of women's studies. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.