"The Devotes is a fine book. Rapley deals with very complex historical phenomena with a deft hand, blending the strands of many stories into a composite picture while still maintaining a sharp focus. She has gleaned an enormous amount of information from her mainly French language sources, and has presented it in a beautifully crafted, highly readable account ... This work represents a significant contribution to our understanding of women's religious vocations both as an area of meaningful labour, and as an arena of struggle in gender relations during a period in history which has been insufficiently studied from the perspectives of women." Dianne M. Hallman, Resources in Feminist Research. "The book is well written and very well annotated ... One gets a good clear overview of women's communities and religious activities in France during the grand siecle." Helje Porre, Toronto Journal of Theology. "Rapley's study has many strengths. She offers a lucid, energetic and compact analysis ... Historians of religion and society will greatly profit from reading this book. They will be indebted to Rapley for opening up new dimensions in the historical experience of women." Laurie Stanley-Blackwell, Studies in Religion. "Rapley's fluent, careful prose and nicely balanced judgements enable the reader to enjoy the excitement of the important social and religious developments ... It is quite simply a fine piece of historical writing which deserves much wider attention." Malcolm Greenshields, Canadian Journal of History. Winner of the 1991 Canadian Federation for the Humanities Book Prize. Winner of the 1991 Wallace K. Ferguson Prize from the Canadian Historical Association. Winner of the 1991 David Pinkney Prize from the Society for French Historical Studies.
