Civilizing Habits: Women Missionaries and the Revival of French Empire

Civilizing Habits explores the life stories of three French women missionaries--Philippine Duchesne, Emilie de Vialar, and Anne-Marie Javouhey--who transgressed boundaries to evangelize in North America, the Mediterranean basin, and France's slave colonies. Their initiative and energy allowed both the Catholic Church and the French state to reestablish global empires in the nineteenth century.