This work investigates the economic role and labor conditions of women in seventeenth-century England to determine how industrial and social shifts altered their domestic and professional status. Alice Clark, a pioneering social historian, utilizes extensive archival research, including household accounts, legal records, and contemporary pamphlets, to construct a detailed analysis of women's participation in both agricultural and early industrial production. She argues that the transition toward capitalism fundamentally restructured the gendered division of labor, often to the detriment of women's economic independence.

Historians frequently cite this text as a foundational study in the field of women's economic history for its rigorous use of primary source data. Scholars note that while the prose reflects the academic standards of the early twentieth century, the depth of the research remains highly relevant for understanding pre-industrial labor dynamics.