We know very little about spinsters in earlier times, for the stigma attached to the unmarried state often rendered these women almost invisible. Now a fascinating book opens a window into the lives of British spinsters in the mid-seventeenth to mid-nineteenth centuries, assessing the opportunities open to them and the restrictions placed upon them within different social classes, occupations, and periods. Bridget Hill examines how often spinsters were able to earn enough money to live independently, what provision the ...
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We know very little about spinsters in earlier times, for the stigma attached to the unmarried state often rendered these women almost invisible. Now a fascinating book opens a window into the lives of British spinsters in the mid-seventeenth to mid-nineteenth centuries, assessing the opportunities open to them and the restrictions placed upon them within different social classes, occupations, and periods. Bridget Hill examines how often spinsters were able to earn enough money to live independently, what provision the Poor Law made for them if they did not, whether extreme poverty led to their involvement in crime or prostitution, and, if they stayed in the parental home, what kind of lives they led. She looks at the part single women played in religious organizations and the role of friendship and letter writing in their daily lives. She describes the nature of close relationships between women, some lesbian but many others not. Exploring the spinsters' possibilities of escape from restrictive lives--particularly by emigration or crossdressing--she discusses how successful these were. She provides details about the degree of surveillance single women suffered from the authorities and how often they were seen as a threat to social order. Finally she addresses the question of whether all spinsters of this era were suffering victims, potential viragoes--or neither.
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Add this copy of Women Alone: Spinsters in Britain 1660-1850 to cart. $33.00, very good condition, Sold by Hourglass Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Vancouver, BC, CANADA, published 2001 by Yale University Press.
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Seller's Description:
Near Fine in Near Fine jacket. Book Complete number line from 1 to 10; minimal wear; otherwise a solid, clean copy with no marking or underlining; collectible condition; 220 pages; publication notice loosely inserted for this review copy.
Add this copy of Women Alone: Spinsters in England, 1660-1850 to cart. $38.78, new condition, Sold by Ingram Customer Returns Center rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from NV, USA, published 2001 by Yale University Press.
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