Being Single in Georgian England: Families, Households, and the Unmarried

by Amy Harris

Being Single in Georgian England is the first book-length exploration of what family life looked like, and how it was experienced, when viewed from the perspective of unmarried and childless family members. Using a micro-historical approach, Amy Harris covers three generations of the famous musical and abolitionist Sharp family. The abundance of records the Sharps produced and preserved reveals how single family members influenced the household economy, marital decisions, childrearing practices, and conceptions about lineage and genealogy. The Sharps' exceptional closeness and good humor consistently shines through as their experiences reveal how eighteenth-century families navigated gender and age hierarchies, marital choices, and household governance. The importance of childhood relationships and the life-long nature of siblinghood stand out as central aspects of Sharp family life, no matter their marital status. Along the way, Being Single explores humor, music, religious
practice and belief, death and mourning, infertility, disability, slavery, abolition, philanthropy, and family memory.

The Sharps' experiences uncover how important lateral kin like siblings and cousins were to marital and household decisions. The analysis also reveals additional layers of Georgian family life, single sociability not centered on courtship; the importance of aunting and uncling on their own terms; the ways charitable acts and philanthropic endeavors could serve as outlets or partial replacements for parenthood; and how genealogical practices could be tied to values and identity instead of to biological descendants' possession of property.

Ultimately, the Sharp siblings' remarkable lives and the single family members' efforts to preserve a record of those lives, show the enduring contribution of unmarried people to family relationships and household dynamics.

272 pages, Hardcover

First published November 3, 2023

About the author

A native of Ogden, Utah, Amy Harris is an associate professor of history at Brigham Young University. After completing a BA in history (with an emphasis on family history/genealogy) at BYU, she earned an MA in late modern European history at American University and a PhD in British history at UC Berkeley. Her training also includes a professional credential in genealogy.

Concentrating on early modern English history, she is currently working on a new book, tentatively titled A Single View: Family Life and the Unmarried in Georgian England.