"Heteronormativity is singularly unappealing as both ideology and a word. This collection of essays, charting the global emergence of the "modern girl" in the period 1920-1940, gives a number of reasons why this is also the case in practice... The contribution that this fascinating volume makes is not, however, confined to producing evidence about the many ways in which women have been encouraged to think of themselves (and their bodies) in terms of highly prescriptive aspirations. The various essays about particular countries, as well as the more general essays that open and conclude the volume, demonstrate that the relationship between modernity and women and femininity is not just important, but essential.”

"Alice in Jamesland is a conscientious biography and a valuable addition to the literature on the family. Gunter’s prefatory remarks suggest that she will partly compensate for gaps in the evidence by treating Alice as what Henry called a ‘ficelle’, an intelligent observer who helps to illuminate the compelling deeds of the principles”.-Ruth Bernard Yeazell, London Review of Books, 25th June 2009