Divided Loyalties? Pushing the Boundaries of Gender and Lay Roles in the Catholic Church, 1534-1829

Lisa McClain is Professor of History and Gender Studies at Boise State University, USA, specializing in the history of Catholicism and the intersections of gender, religion, and popular culture. Her previous works include Lest We Be Damned: Practical Innovation and Lived Experience among Catholics in Protestant England 1559-1642.

• 1 Introduction: Devout Outlaws.- Part I.- 2 The New Normal.- 3 Disobedient Women.- 4 Wodehouse’s Choice.- 5 Amending the Marriage Contract.- Part II.- 6 The ‘Good Catholic’.- 7 Sharing the Job: Cooperation between the Priesthood and Laity.- 8 Where the Catholic Church Draws the Line: Mary Ward vs the Priesthood.

“McClain’s evidence throughout leans heavily on English examples from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, making the book more about early modern English Catholics. … McClain’s work is an important read for scholars of the post-Reformation British Catholic community.” (Jennifer Binczewski, British Catholic History, Vol. 34 (3), May, 2019)