Victorian Ladies At Work; Middle Class Working Women In England And Wales, 1850-1914

by Lee Holcombe

This is a pioneering study in a field long neglected by serious scholars. It traces the changing role and status of middle-class women from the perhaps parasitic "lady of leisure" of the mid-nineteenth century to the independent working woman of Edwardian England. Victorian Ladies at Work studies closely the position of women in the traditionally feminine fields of teaching and nursing and in new fields which were opening up for women, such as shop and clerical work and the civil service. In each case the changing position of working women is related to broader themes and wider developments in English society--the rapid growth of an industrialized and urban economy, the Radical reform tradition and the practical operations of the "Victorian conscience," and the democratization of society generally as exemplified by the advent of popular education, the rise of the professions, and the growth of trade unionism and of the Labour Party.

In addition the book examines attentively the special problems which Victorian working women encountered as women, and relates these to the position of working women and the woman's movement of the present day.

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1973

Reviews

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

I appreciated the information this book provided. I had been doing some research on Victorian times for a current writing project, and I found this book quite useful in understanding more about women and their working conditions of the time. My main complaint about it was that it was so ridiculously number based, constantly throwing in facts and figures with percentages and wages (which are difficult enough to really discern the value of given how much inflation has happened since Victorian times). I very much wished the author had simply stuck with the charts in the appendixes to give this information instead of throwing it in every other paragraph. I found it incredibly difficult to work through as a result. I really would have preferred understanding more about the day to day life these working women experienced, but that really wasn't the focus so that's understandable. Informative book, but not one I'd recommend for simple pleasure reading.

[Darinka · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book for my research on the influence of victorian feminism on the workposition of women in Victorian England. It was really useful and fascinating. Full of great details and clear structure.