A study of the role of women in the Church of England, tracing the origins of the present controversy over their position in the second half of the 19th and early 20th centuries. There are two parts to the book. The first part sets out the various roles played by women in the Church which assigned to them subordinate positions. Through chapters on the image of women in the Church, female volunteer workers and the gradual recruitment of a cadre of paid and professional workers, the author describes the context which he believes allowed women a separate sphere for a development which was carefully controlled by male authority. The second part analyzes the movement towards equality - the sources of Church feminism, the increasing participation of women in the governing of the Church, the achievement of the franchise in Church elections and the struggle for women to present themselves as preachers and pastors of the Church of England.