Faderman continues her valuable excavations of the archaeology of erotic relationships between women... [She] has succeeded in recreating an absorbing, often peculiarly moving courtroom drama.
Terry Castle Signs The records are fascinating: they open up for us the worlds of the young female student and the schoolmistress, as well as the workings of the judicial system of early nineteenth-century ... Read moreScotland. Beyond that, they make us privy to a unique glimpse of what lesbianism was considered to be at the time... A brilliant find.
Karla Jay Women's Review of Books Faderman, a noted U.S. feminist, recreates the trial superbly, using the original transcripts and her own detective work. She examines the trial from a feminist viewpoint, showing how it revealed the prevailing attitudes toward women in a phallocentric society. Her approach is valid and compelling, but her story is fascinating on many other levels as well... Totally engrossing.
William French Globe and Mail An absorbing transcript detailing the evolution of our understanding of the sexual relationships between women using the Scotch trial as the lynchpin. The story is mesmerizing while the writing is riveting.
Aron Row San Francisco Book Review Show Less