Keeping Hearth & Home in Old Alabama: A Practical Primer for Daily Living

by Carol Padgett

Keeping Hearth & Home in Old Alabama is a "how-to" book, but not for you. Drawn from a wealth of authentic Victorian-era books and magazines, it is like the book your great- or great-great grandmother might have read at age 17 to prepare herself for the etiquette of courting, to learn how to conduct herself in public, and to learn what would be required of her during marriage. Later, she might have read the same book through all over again, for ideas about how to arrange the parlor and how to direct her children's playtime. It's also the book she would have grabbed off the shelf the first few times she needed to butcher and prepare a hog, make cologne, clean her finest church silk, or make a syrup to treat her baby's nagging cough. Finally, she could depend upon it to provide sure-fire recipes for the most common edible dishes - and disease remedies - of the day.So welcome to the family household in old Alabama. Come indoors, pull up a fireside rocker, and discover how the everyday rituals of a bustling nineteenth-century home can bring history to life more vividly than ever.

Genres: Nonfiction

224 pages, Hardcover

First published April 10, 2002

Reviews

[Pattie Pender · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fun book to read full of old daily living stories from old Alabama. I have had the pleasure of working with the author, Dr. Carol Padgett, for many years in my employment adventures in Birmingham, Alabama. She is a superb psychologist as well as a writer. This is a great book and she has several more Hearth and Home books for different states as well. I recommend all her books!

[Talea · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found quite a few recipes in this one that are new to me that I intent to try as soon as I can. The etiquette tips were eye opening in a few cases, especially for those in mourning. I’ve collected antique cookbooks and household management books for over a decade and still found a few interesting nuggets. This is a great starter for those just getting into domestic history. I really enjoyed it.

[Aimee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet little book full of wisdom and advice that any lady would have used at the end of the 19th century. It is a quick little read. Some things made me laugh, (did they really think that would work?), sometimes I wonder at the wisdom lost.

This book is right up my alley :)

[Ethan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, but wasn't exactly what I thought - not so much old Alabama as I would consider it might have been. Readable more as a how-to guide, not a non-fiction book.