Genre, patrimoine et droit civil: Les femmes mariées de la bourgeoisie québécoise en procès, 1900-1930

Published by McGill-Queen's University Press, this scholarly monograph by historian Thierry Nootens examines the intersection of gender, property, and civil law in Quebec during the early twentieth century. It emerged from a broader effort within Canadian historiography to uncover the legal and social agency of women within the province’s patriarchal civil code, specifically focusing on the financial and familial struggles of bourgeois women navigating the courtroom between 1900 and 1930.

The book provides an in-depth analysis of how married women managed their assets and contested legal restrictions during a period of transition in Quebec society. Nootens utilizes court records and legal archives to challenge traditional narratives, illustrating the tensions between gendered legal obligations and the practical realities of inheritance and wealth management. It is widely recognized by academics as a definitive text for understanding the evolution of civil law rights and the socio-legal history of Quebec's Francophone elite.