'Susan Fergusons attention to labour in the history of feminist thought is timely and urgent as is her attention to capitals intensified harvest from the devalued work of social reproduction. Scholars and students across disciplines will find here valuable insights into the history of feminist theory and social movement' -- Rosemary Hennessy, Professor of English and Director of the Center for the Study of Women, Gender, and Sexuality at Rice University 'Susan Ferguson has been a leader in the efforts to develop social reproduction theory. In this book, she takes on the historical context for its development. Her focus on the history of 'labour' in Marxist and feminist thought brilliantly reshapes our understanding of the concept and its role in analysing our past, present, and future' -- Lise Vogel, author of 'Marxism and the Oppression of Women' 'A masterful analysis of three centuries of feminist deliberations on work, carefully tracing how the fault lines of social-reproduction theory emerged' -- 'Historical Materialism'