The present-day welfare state crisis in the Nordic countries is a major inspiration behind this anthology, written by nine senior and junior scholars involved in intellectural and social history, women and gender history in Sweden, Norway and Denmark.By tracing the multivaried role of women as welfare producers and distributors in the period 1780-1930 and in metropolitan and provincial contexts this anthology argues that philanthropy both predated, co-exited with and shaped the formation of the "classical" welfare states.This anthology enters a fascinating world of associations, societies and homes to depict the direct interactions of volunteering women and their clients, their goals and ambitions in an age of early industrial capitalism and political modernization.