This fascinating book explores the status of women in medieval England, contrasting the differences in status between Anglo/Danish or Saxon women with those who fell under the burden of the feudal system imposed by the Normans. The book covers such subjects as marriage and childbirth, the rights and responsibilities of wives, separation, and divorce, safety and security, and the challenges of widowhood. It also examines such issues as virginity and chastity and the pressures placed on women by religious groups. At a time when women's rights were minimal, the author charts their struggles against the sexual politics of the era, its inequalities, and its hypocrisies. She also examines problems from forced marriage to prostitution.