Images of women in technical books from the English Renaissance

Technical books written for women in the English Renaissance are shown to provide a rich source for furthering knowledge of the literacy of women, particularly middle-class women, and the roles these women assumed. These show that Renaissance women assumed active roles, were generally as literate as men, and needed books to help them execute major responsibilities in home medical care, home and estate management, animal husbandry, cooking, and gardening. They also show that women´s literacy increased rapidly by the end of the Renaissance and that the increase in the demand for books was most certainly due in part to demands by women for technical and other forms of how-to books. The effectiveness with which Renaissance technical writers adapted content and style for women readers is cited as a reminder to the modern technical writer of the value of gender considerations in designing content and style