The Victorian House: Domestic Life From Childbirth To Deathbed

Description

Judith Flanders, author of the widely acclaimed A Circle of Sisters, has written an incisive and irresistible portrait of Victorian domestic life. The book itself is laid out like a house, following the story of daily life from room to room: from childbirth in the master bedroom, through the scullery, kitchen and dining room -- cleaning, dining, entertaining -- on upwards, ending in the sickroom and death.Through a collage of diaries, letters, advice books, magazines and paintings, Flanders shows how social history is built up out of tiny domestic details. Through these we can understand the desires, motivations and thoughts of the age.Many people today live in Victorian terraces, and so the houses themselves are familiar, but the lives are not. The Victorian House will change all that.

Reviews

'An enthralling, entertaining and thought-provoking revelation of the realities of life in the tall, thin, Victorian town house.' Evening Standard 'This book is a splendidly entertaining read, and it also breaks new ground. No one has ever written so interestingly or wittily about housework.' The Spectator 'Rich and well ordered, this study casts brilliant light... Curious facts tumble from the pages.' The Economist 'The delight of this book... is the intelligence and freshness of its inferences.' The Sunday Times 'Judith Flanders' artful arrangement of fascinating facts brings new life to people (mostly female) and places (all domestic) that traditional history ignored.' Literary Review

Author description

Judith Flanders is the author of critically acclaimed 'A Circle of Sisters' (2001) -- a biography of Alice Kipling, Georgiana Burne-Jones, Agnes Poynder and Louisa Baldwin -- which was nominated for the Guardian First Book Award, and 'Consuming Passions: Leisure and Pleasure in Victorian England' (2006). She is a frequent contributor to the 'Daily Telegraph', the 'Guardian', the 'Evening Standard', and the TLS.