Joseph McCabe (1) (1867–1955)

Originally a Little Blue Book, this is a re-issue of a 1926 work. The author is noted for his freethought works, and in this one, he seeks to examine the claim thta Christianity led to greater freedom for women. He uses the Egyptian, Babylonian, Cretan, Greek, and Roman societies as comparisons, and comes to the firm conclusion that, in fact, women were starting to gain some rights before Christianity came along, and that was destroyed by the Christian belief that women were inferior vessels that brought sin into the world (an idea also included in Judaism, and later picked up by Islam; the author does not restrict his thesis solely to Christianity). A short book, an easy read, but it suffers some from a too ready assumption about what the life of women was in earlier societies. He might have painted a bit too rosy a picture; though he does present some evidence to support this, modern scholarship is by no means convinced it was quite so bright. Overall, worth reading, and a delight to see the sort of words and wordplay they were still able to use in the early 20th century, without talking over the heads of an ordinary audience.… (mais)