Gender, Family and Religious History in the Modern Era
Although the value of ‘reading for pleasure' has become part and parcel of contemporary reading culture, this highly proselytized past-time, to children and adults alike, was not always considered so salient. In fact, in the late 18th and 19th centuries - as the novel proliferated - numerous people and groups sought to repress these rising... Continue Reading →
In conjunction with the rise of separate spheres, the significance of women's work in the domestic sphere increased in the 19th century. Women were increasingly considered to be the "moral compass" of the family; they maintained their home as a safe-haven for spiritual growth and retreat for their children and husband. These beliefs were founded... Continue Reading →
The word “homesick” first entered common parlance in the late 18th century. It accompanied a rising feeling of nostalgia for the home as it transitioned; no longer a place of residence or the locus of one’s business, it became a symbolic emblem of family, safety and love. The age of industrialisation gave cause for rising... Continue Reading →
On Tuesday, 21 May 1867 a peculiar case was presented to the Lewes Petty Sessions. A case of nuisance was brought against a Mr Robert Dennis Chantrell, a resident in Rottingdean. The complaint concerned Chantrell's residence, which was so inundated with animals, especially those of the feline persuasion, that it causing ill health on the... Continue Reading →
On the 6th of April 1842 the Police Constable, William Gardner, was on duty in Wandsworth, when a tradesperson, Mr Collingbourn, approached him with a complaint. Local man, Daniel Good had stolen a pair of black trousers from his shop and he wished to press charges. Good was the coachman for Mr Shiell, in Putney,... Continue Reading →
In the previous post, I discussed how women were viewed by Baptist culture in 19th century churches. If you haven't yet read that post, please do so by clicking here. Then, do come back and read about the expectations women faced in the church. The Baptist Quarterly Review asserted that all Christians share common duties,... Continue Reading →
"Nursing of their children is a natural duty; and because it is so, of a more necessary and indispensable obligation, than any positive precept of revealed religion; and that the general neglect of it is one of the great and crying sins of this age and nation. It is a sort of exposing children, which... Continue Reading →
In November 1841, James Miller published an advertisement in the Oxford Chronicle and Reading Gazette. In a couple of paragraphs, Miller offers the time, place, and method of a proposal for his beloved. However...in case she fails to reciprocate, he warns that an unfavourable answer will result in him forgetting her and finding a more... Continue Reading →
“It has been common knowledge for ages that women exist, bear children, have no beards, and seldom go bald…but save in these respects, and in others where they are said to be identical with men, we know little of them and have little sound evidence upon which to base our conclusions.” - Virginia Woolf, 1920... Continue Reading →
