Poverty is a complex and emotive subject and whether it should be assuaged by private initiatives or public intervention has been a major debate in Western Europe since the 16th century. This lucid, incisive, and thought provoking study, comparing the records of France and Holland tracks two different attempts to tackle the same problems. It constitutes and original an highly significant contribution to the history of welfare in the west.

Olwen Hufton, Merton College, Oxford

Gouda is the rare author who has the linguistic skills and the scholarly background to juxtapose two very different countries. She also has the methodological sophistication to use the tools of political economy or the insights of cultural studies when needed.

American Historical Review

A rich and elegantly-written account of the language and politics of poverty in nineteenth-century Holland and France. Gouda's bold comparative approach produces a wide array of insights that individual national histories would have missed.

Edward Berenson, University of California, Los Angeles