Traces the lives and influences of the four MacDonald sisters of nineteenth-century Britain, citing their origins in the poorly educated lower-middle class, their identities as the wives or mothers of famous artists and leaders, and the social changes that enabled their achievements. 10,000 first printing. They were not to the manor born; blue blood did not flow in their veins, yet sisters Alice, Agnes, Georgiana, and Louisa MacDonald grew up to become the wives and mothers of some of Victorian England's most celebrated and influential men. Georgie would marry renowned pre-Raphaelite artist Edward Burne-Jones; Agnes, Edward Poynter, administrator of the Royal Academy of Art and the National and Tate galleries. Louisa's son, Stanley Baldwin, would be a three-term prime minister, and Alice Kipling's son, Rudyard, would give the world classic literature. Although the MacDonald women were not without intellect and talent, theirs would be a reflected glory, and Flanders ponders how each affected her husband's or son's achievements and what effect their work had, in turn, upon the women. Offering perceptive commentary on the prescribed role of women in Victorian society to be mere helpmeets, Flanders' attentive, scholarly accuracy is enhanced by piquant observations that demonstrate both her professional talent and personal take on the lives of these remarkable, but unremarked upon, women. Carol Haggas Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved Judith Flanders is author of Inside the Victorian Home . The British edition of A Circle of Sisters was short-listed for the Guardian First Book Award. She lives in London.