Victorian Women

by Joan Perkin

The first book to render Victorian women of all classes in their own voices

While the aristocratic women of the Victorian age have long preoccupied the popular imagination, seldom have women of other classes been granted a voice. Victorian Women is the first book to allow women of all classes to render their own lives, in their own words, from birth to old age, in the long nineteenth century between the French Revolution and the First World War.

In letters, memoirs, and other contemporary sources these women describe their childhood and education; courtship, marriage and homemaking; sex and motherhood; marital breakdown; widowhood; and their pastimes and entertainments. Their voices, heretofore drowned by the cacophony of louder, often male versions of history, speak to us with clarity and poignancy, revealing strength of feeling, courage, and humor. We find in this book the unmarried woman worker, the single mother, the prostitute, as well as those who fought for professional recognition against the regiments of the church, government, and law.

Genres: History, Victorian, Nonfiction

264 pages, Paperback

First published September 9, 1993

Reviews

[Liz · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book doesn't really feel like a proper academic source; however, for a general overview about conditions for women during the long nineteenth century then Perkins' book is a good place to start. It dispels many myths about the Victorian woman as well as reveals many of her secrets. All-in-all, it's a good read.


"On average, women of all classes married between the ages of twenty-three and twenty-six; men between twenty-five and thirty" (Perkins 2).

"By marriage, husband and wife became one person in law - that that person was he" (Perkins 73).

[Courtney Mccarthy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am very impressed by this book. I bought it secondhand out of curiosity but with it being older and nonfiction I wasn’t sure if it would be dull. I found it thought provoking, surprising, and at times it felt humorous. The first chapter was all about how unwanted a girl was in pregnancy. Someone in that time period even called being pregnant with a girl “would be a blank” pregnancy. It talks about how girls weren’t treated the same as boys by their parents. Which is interesting when I personally feel the same way in 2023. Moms always baby the sons and it makes me wonder if this is part of the reason mothers and daughters don’t get along. Maybe there’s some generational trauma there. There were also some very interesting domestic violence cases in this book that shocked me. For example, one man hit his wife so hard she died because she wouldn’t give him beer money and the court decided no jail time because he was provoked. Like WTF! And that was one of many cases where injustice was shown to a murdered wife. This book did me thankful for the feminist before me that fought for the rights I currently have. At the same time, I see women in different countries currently are still fighting for these basic rights which is devastating.

[Malin · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was a bit difficult, made even more difficult by pages in the wrong places. (And from what I can see it's from the printing, not from a former lender). But it was interesting to read about the cool and brave women.

[Niki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing book on the lives of women in the Victorian age. I stayed up all night reading it.

[Chloe · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Lorraine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really excellent look at the lives of Victorian women from birth to childhood; this book is not bogged down in academic language but is very readable. Best of all, most of the evidence in the book consists of the written and oral accounts of Victorian women themselves.

[Angela Platt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent portrayal of women's history in the Victorian era- discusses the roles of women according to their social class and further delves into education and opportunities of women in this era. A lot of the views are quite shockingly different from what we believe today... For example- it was believed that women should not be highly intellectually educated, or it would interfere with their ability to reproduce children. Society has come a long way, needless to say.

[Steelwhisper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative, clarifying where some current assumptions about Victorian women go wrong (and quite in line with Gathorne-Hardy in that respect in spite of a considerable difference in time!) due the lack of perspective, as a whole quite a meaty read.

Recommended to everyone who wants to broaden knowledge about that era in relation to women and interaction with society and the other gender.