Basing her analysis on detailed study of literacy and epigraphic material, Gardener explores the provisions of the Roman laws as they related to women. Discussed are the ways in which the laws affected women throughout their lives.

The legal situation of the women of ancient Rome was extremely complex, and - since there was no sharp distinction between free woman, freedwoman and slave - the definition of their legal position is often heard. Basing her lively analysis on detailed study of literary and epigraphic material, Jane F. Gardner explores the provisions of the Roman laws as they related to women. Dr Gardner describes the ways in which the laws affected women throughout their lives - in families, as daughters, wives and parents; as heiresses and testators; as owners and controllers of property; and as workers. She looks with particular attention at the ways in which the strict letter of the law came to be modified, softened, circumvented, and even changed, pointing out that the laws themselves tell us as much about the economic situation of women and the range of opportunities available to them outside the home.

` ... should be a permanent reference book for the scholar. What could have been an overwhelmingly erudite volume becomes in the writing of Jane Gardner a most lucid and readable text. Students and teachers will find in this book a reliable guide to the exploration of women's position in the Roman world.' - Ancient History`Shows convincingly how concern for the interests of the family and its property lies at the base of many of the legal provisions concerning women ... Dr Gardner writes with clarity and touches of wit.' - The Times