’Janet Greenlees' goal in this very fine study is to provide a more complicated and nuanced view of the role of women workers in industry... one of the strengths of this book is the variety of secondary sources used in her summary of the work on women and industrialization... Greenlees has done a wonderful job integrating the analysis of economists and historians in her historiography and throughout the study... a must read for cotton textile scholars and scholars of women's role in early industry.’ EH.net ’ (a) remarkable book ... The freshness of Greenlees’s approach and scholarship breathes new life into the historiography of early textile industrialization, turning our attention away from deindustrialization and globalization. She strives for a balance between gender and class analysis, an intersection of business and labor history, and a reassessment of the assumptions about early industrial processes. ’ American Historical Review ’[Greenlees's] thesis is well-developed and the writing is clear, concise and varied. Because of her examination of a broad range of mills in both the United States and Great Britain and because of the fresh look it takes, this volume is definitely a valuable addition to the literature regarding labour, technology, and mill work during the period of early industrialization.’ Technology and Culture ’...the book is beautifully produced and crafted. ... Cogently argued throughout, this book is a major work of historical research.’ Labour History Review ’The book makes an important and thought provoking contribution to the literature on the rise of the factory system, especially in relation to appreciating the values, needs and priorities of the female workers within it...’ Northern History