Working Women of Early Modern Venice. Monica Chojnacka
wider implications. The Conclusion also is repetitive without exploring the broader implications of her analysis. Crabb manages well to comment on broader historiographical debates as her narrative progresses, but some of the debates discussed seem a little dated now, particularly her discussion of Aries' views on attitudes towards children. Phillip Gavitt's work and more recently that of Louis Haas have surely put paid to Aries' and Stone's arguments. Crabb's discussion of women also could have been improved by using some of the more recent work on women in Renaissance Italy and Europe which analyses and nuances our understanding of gender, a term used by the author but not subjected to the same level of comment and analysis as other terms such as honor, profit and even family. This would have highlighted even more the constraints and opportunities available to Alessandra. For example, in chapters six and seven, the significance of Alessandra's involvement in activities related to politics would have been more nuanced and strengthened if attention had been paid to recent discussions on gender relations in the Italian Renaissance. However, despite these criticisms, this book teaches us much about the Strozzi, widowhood and family solidarity in Renaissance Florence. NATALIE TOMAS Monash University