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Article: A Woman's Kingdom: Noblewomen and the Control of Property in Russia, 1700-1861.(Book Review)
- Article from:
- Journal of Social History
- Article date:
- December 22, 2004
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 Journal of Social History. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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A Woman's Kingdom: Noblewomen and the Control of Property in Russia, 1700-1861. By Michelle Lamarche Marrese (Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press, 2002. xiv plus 276 pp. $42.50).
Michelle Marrese has written the definitive study of one of the most intriguing paradoxes in Russian history. In the 1813 painting that serves as her book's striking dust jacket, an elegant D. A. Derzhavina, tiny lapdog on her arm, gestures proudly to a magnificent estate standing in the distance across a lush green landscape. Although Russia's patriarchal family law imposed severe restrictions on women's autonomy, its property and inheritance law protected the rights of women ...