ABSTRACT
Few texts have had so melodramatic a publication career as Lombroso’s La donna delinquente (Lombroso and Ferrero 1893). The theatrical stops and starts of its publication history doomed it for years to misunderstanding and scorn, although this same rollercoastering trajectory eventually led to the work’s rescue, restorations of its reputation, and happy endings. In the twists and turns of its publication history, La donna delinquente reflects, more than any of Lombroso’s other works, his own career, which was also characterized by sudden reversals and extremes in public and scientific opinion. More generally, it reflects changing attitudes toward the place of women – and studies of women – in society.
