Expect Great Things!

“Readers can indeed expect great things from Vanda Krefft’s engaging new book. Deeply researched with vivid historical details, the book both inspires and entertains. This cinematic portrait of the Gibbs women is Mad Men in reverse—sure to be picked up for its own television series!”

"The Katharine Gibbs School trained tens of thousands of women—white gloves and all—to battle sexism and succeed in business, government, entertainment, politics, and more. The struggle for workplace equality continues."

"During the twentieth century, most educational establishments catered only reluctantly to the changing status and aspirations of women. But one gutsy young widow from Rhode Island was ahead of the game, as Vanda Krefft shows in this splendid account of the life of Katharine Gibbs and the schools she founded. In lively prose, Krefft outlines how the schools evolved from training perfect (and perfectly groomed) helpmates for male bosses, to educating modern women eager and qualified to take control of their own lives. Her accounts of the varied and often astonishing careers of Gibbs graduates sparkle with drama. Expect Great Things! is a fascinating exploration of how one woman’s example of self-assurance, hard work, and imagination quietly helped lay the groundwork for feminist challenges to the status quo."
 

"Vanda Krefft conducts a thorough survey of the fascinating Katharine Gibbs School and the women it produced—women who went on to break real ground in a sexist world. These stories of the Katharine Gibbs graduates give us a new way to look at American history in the 20th century, through the beautifully detailed tales of their accomplishments and audacity. A dynamic portrait of an heretofore overlooked piece of American culture."