The Historical Study of Women: England 1500-1700 provides a richly detailed survey of the history and historiography of early-modern women in England during the Reformation and Civil War. Covering a wide variety of key topics, the book explores the history of ideas, women's rights, law and criminality, witchcraft, queenship, courtship and marriage, family and the household, childrearing and the world of property-ownership and work. It also provides valuable insights into the development of women's writing and political participation in the period.

Capern treats women's history as inherently political and offers a new interpretative framework for understanding the history of femininity in early-modern England. Clear and comprehensive, this is significant reading for anyone interested in early-modern English history.