The main achievement of Wives and Widows of Medieval London is to show that behind the powerful men of London were often women, who used their wealth, status and connections to further their husbands’ ambitions, and to secure their own futures and those of their children. The format of the volume as a compilation of individual and collective biographies works well in offering an insight into both individual experience and broader themes in London history. The approach taken in this study is empirical and largely relies upon testamentary evidence as a starting point, or as an ‘initial keyhole into a life’ (p. 1). Whilst historians have expressed some concern at reliance upon wills as a main source, Sutton is happy to use them as a gateway into the lives of these women, enabling her to widen her research to reflect on everyday life in London, its politics, crafts and trades, and opportunities for social mobility. Her method also allows for an examination of the familial relationships and issues arising from multiple marriages, material culture and the piety of these women in an urban setting.

The book is divided into two halves, the first concentrating on married women and the latter half dealing with widows. Two of the widows featured in the volume are also present in Barron and Sutton's Medieval London Widows and other cases-studies draw on work printed elsewhere. What is new with the volume, however, is the way in which it furthers the work done in Medieval London Widows. For example, there has been considerable, additional research into individuals such as Alice Claver, which has cast new light on her life and associates. The inclusion of previously unpublished chapters, particularly on the widow Joan Haynes-Westwood-Dunton-Kent, adds to our understanding of the experiences of these women. The volume also considers the full life cycle of a woman linked to the mercery trade from maidenhood through to widowhood.

Sutton's main concern in the first half of the book is to address the myth of the ‘Femme Sole’. This she sees as an imaginary construct, invented by historians to explain the phenomenon of women (single or married) working between c. 1300 and c. 1500. Instead, Sutton argues that a married woman working alongside her husband, particularly in the mercery trade, would have made sense, particularly as silkwomen made some of the goods which set the mercery trade apart from its rivals (p. 16). Sutton uses a range of studies to show how important the second income of a silkwoman could be to a mercer's household and the ways in which such employment could work. Whilst Sutton makes it clear that this does not suggest equality by any means between husband and wife, it does suggest that the mercer's household and its survival was dependent on the income of both partners (pp. 66–7). The second half of the book addresses London's widows, using four case-studies to discuss the issues which faced these women in London and highlighting the great difference in their experiences. These case-studies are especially valuable in exploring how ambitious widows could use their position to advance their own status, as well as that of their new husbands. Whilst these biographies show the potential independence and freedom a widow could enjoy, they also highlight the dangers of a wealthy widowhood, including the threat of kidnap and forced marriage.

This volume is a valuable addition to the scholarship on medieval women's history in urban areas, building on previous work regarding London's medieval widows and the controversial ‘golden age’ experienced by some. It provides detailed accounts of individual wives and widows whilst encompassing broader topics of interest, in particular trading and social networks and the political and economic background to women's experience. What is perhaps lacking is some form of concluding, comparative analysis to pull these individual biographies together at the end of the volume, although some of the issues are discussed in the introduction. The biographies provide a set of excellent case-studies of the lived experiences of these women at the same time as providing a collective resource for those studying women in late medieval urban centres.