A history of women's waged work in Scotland during the 19th and early 20th centuries which casts much new light on the real nature of women's working lives. In agriculture, domestic labour, the printing and textile trades as well as sweated home work, women had very little choice or authority in the work they did. Usually working long hours for low pay, they frequently also faced antagonism from their male colleagues. This book contrasts the experiences of many different women workers and draws general conclusions for women's history.