This addition to the Old Testament Guides series studies the only two biblical books to have been named after women, and finds them refreshingly different. A rich field of new writing on Esther is surveyed, showing that this exotic book is emerging from a long period under a cloud to make valuable contributions to a number of current debates: what makes a biblical text theologically valuable or dangerous - and how do our perceptions change? what is the relation beween history and theology? what is the status of variant forms of the biblical tradition? how does the book achieve its literary impact? - and, of course, what contribution does it make to feminist biblical studies? Ruth is more of an established favourite in the biblical canon. The Guide tackles the elusive questions of its dating and the nature of its relationship to Israelite law, as well as the contrivance of its literary beauty and the subtlety of its theology. The needs of students studying Ruth as a set text in Hebrew are taken into account, but the Guide follows the series as a whole in catering primarily for those studying English text.