Widows: Poverty, Power and Politics

Historically, widows have often been portrayed as pitiful figures dressed in black who required charity to survive. This was certainly true of the lives of many working class women over the centuries for whom day-to-day existence was already marginal.

But for others, widowhood released them from a domestic life where they could own nothing and in which they were totally subjugated to their husband’s will.  Now, as widows they found themselves suddenly empowered and free to conduct themselves as they wished with an independence of thought and action and a defined role in society.

In their new book Widows: Poverty, Power and Politics West Midlands historians Professor Maggie Andrews and Dr Janis Lomas explore the lives of these women – famous and unknown.

LISTEN to Professor Andrews talk to the publisher of History West Midlands, Mike Gibbs,  about some of the stories which the book reveals.

Keywords: Women, widows, Maggie Andrews