1. Needlework and creativity in representations of the seamstress --
2. 'A suitable employment for women' : the woman artist and the principle of compatibility --
3. 'The difference is great in being known to write and setting up for an authoress' : representing the writing woman --
4. Unceasing industry : work and the female performer.

Draws on fiction, prose, painting, and the periodical press to expand and redefine our understanding of women's relationship to paid work during the Victorian period. This book shows that the divisions between public and private were, in fact, surprisingly flexible, with homes described as workplaces and workplaces as homes.