Rebels at the Bar

Norgren has assembled and rendered accessible an impressive array of pioneering women. ~Women's Review of Books

Shedding light on a little-known chapter of American history and the women who blazed the trail for today's attorneys, this will be most enjoyed by students of history, women's studies, and law, along with interested general readers. ~Library Journal

[A] conscientious history of the countrys first female lawyers...The women who went first whose stories Norgren so capably tells matter deeply to the ones who came after. ~Emily Bazelon, The Washington Post

Rebels at the Baris not just a story of movement. It is the story of individuals and the individual sacrifice they made in order to become lawyers. Next time I have a student who complains about a B+, I plan to recite one of these stories. Success comes with nerve and sacrifice. These women had both. ~Laurie L. Levenson, LA Review of Books

Bold, brave women with musical old-fashioned namesMyra, Clara, Belva, Lelia, Laviniaare among the subjects of this lively and readable account of the first women lawyers. Some were famous in their times, but all were forgotten until recently when female attorneys started seeking their history, and found a Boswell in Jill Norgren. ~Barbara Babcock,Judge John Crown Professor of Law, Emerita, Stanford Law School

engaging and beautifully written book ~Ms. JD Book Series

Even after practicing law for 30 years I found this book fascinating. ~Joan M. Burda, NY Journal of Books

Her history and biography have produced a valuable study that transcends disciplinary boundaries and should have wide appeal outside academia. ~Law and Society Review

I have read Ms. Norgren's book with profound gratitude. Being reminded of the brave, intelligent, controversial women who have broke through many barriers a good hundred years before the 1950's has been a fascinating experience. ~Senior Women Web

I read these stories of the first generation of women lawyers with awe and gratitude. We are all in their debtand in Jill Norgren's, too, for recovering this forgotten history. ~Linda Greenhouse,Knight Distinguished Journalist in Residence and Joseph M. Goldstein Senior Fellow, Yale Law School

In this pathbreaking account, Rebels at the Bar enlarges our understanding of womens entrance to the legal profession. With telling detail and lively prose, Jill Norgren profiles the courage, resilience, and challenges of Americas first women lawyers. This is a compelling story and essential reading for anyone interested in womens role in legal history. ~Deborah L. Rhode,Ernest W. McFarland Professor of Law, Stanford Law School

Intriguing and enriching, Norgrens book on the first generation of women lawyers in America offers an in-depth look at the careers of eight notable women...this intersection of legal and feminist history is unquestionably inspiring. ~Publishers Weekly

Norgren's book will appeal to readers seeking to imagine the lives and work of the earliest women in the legal profession. By portraying women lawyers as ambitious human beings with complicated personal lives and real economic needs, Norgren enables these women's histories to speak to some of our persisting questions about gender, work, family, and professionalism. The book will make a good gift for some aspiring lawyers, helping them see into the struggles of earlier generations and questioning some of their assumptions about the entry of women into the legal profession. ~Karen Leroux, Judicature

Rebellion was not on the minds of the extraordinary, first-generation female lawyers portrayed in Jill Norgren's engaging history, Rebels at the Bar...More than just a biography, Norgren's book also provides a snapshot of legal history and the professionalization of legal practice in the United States....Norgren's thorough footnotes and extensive bibliography attest to the depth of research informing the book. She places the lives of these women in the context of nineteenth century America, where they attempted to build their practices and institute social and legal reforms. ~Christine K. Dulaney, Law Library Journal

Norgrens stories show that the fight for womens equality can never be defined by a single, central goal, for while these womens lives were deeply entwined with the fight for suffrage, their efforts were fueled by and helped to spark reform in a wide range of social justice movements. These biographies, with all their intimate detail and individuality, also reminds us that, while feminist efforts are often characterized as a series of overarching waves, bounded by certain moments in time, the fight for equality is not propelled by some tidal force but by the resolve and practice of women and progressive men who are linked across history by their actions. ~Journal of American Culture

"the stories of the lives of this first generation of women lawyers are so rich that they speak for themselves" ~The Federal Lawyer