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'Unlocks the homes of Georgian England to examine the lives of their inhabitants.' --Bookseller Preview, July 2009
Product Description
In this brilliant new work, Amanda Vickery unlocks the homes of Georgian England to examine the lives of the people who lived there. Writing with her customary wit and verve, she introduces us to men and women from all walks of life: gentlewoman Anne Dormer in her stately Oxfordshire mansion; bachelor clerk and future novelist Anthony Trollope in his dreary London lodgings; genteel spinsters keeping up appearances in two rooms with yellow wallpaper; and, servants with only a locking box to call their own. Vickery makes ingenious use of upholsterer's ledgers, burglary trials, and other unusual sources to reveal the roles of house and home in economic survival, social success, and political representation during the long 18th century. Through the spread of formal visiting, the proliferation of affordable ornamental furnishings, the commercial celebration of feminine artistry at home, and the currency of the language of taste, even modest homes turned into arenas of social campaign and exhibition.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
58 of 60 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I am a great fan of Amanda Vickery's books. And I think that they should be required reading for anyone interested in the social history of the Georgian era.
Her previous work, "The Gentleman's Daughter" was a wonderfully detailed exploration of the intimate lives of women in the 18th century and helped many of us to a greater understanding of Jane Austen's female character's lives, setting them in a recognisable historical context .Her new book "Behind Closed Doors : at home in Georgian England" once again takes the domestic realm as it subject but details it on a much wider scale.
She does not concentrate on one class of people but considers, in minute detail, the intimate lives of landladies and lodgers, tradesmen and women, professionals and aristocrats living in both London and in the provinces.
Its scale is breathtaking and the detail, delicious. And what I really adore is that she admits the historical truth of Jane Austen's writings by including copious quotes from the six novels to illustrate her points. Indeed, she devotes almost half a chapter of the book to consider the way in which the subject of the home is treated by Austen's heroines and heroes, even going so far as to paraphrase the famous opening sentence of Pride and Prejudice.
"It is a truth universally acknowledged that a Georgian house with a drawing room,French windows and lawns must be in want of a mistress..."
It was an irresistible and understandable opportunity ....I daresay had I been given the chance to play with that famous line, I would not have let it pass either...
While reading Professor Vickery's descriptions of the lives and experiences of real individuals the Jane Austen devotee will find many parallels with the situations in which her characters find themselves.
The book is beautifully produced , printed on fine glossy paper and illustrated in black and white and colour with very appropriate and carefully chosen illustrations.
I confess I have devoured this book and read it quickly almost at one sittting.I am going to revisit it over the next few weeks savouring its detail. I highly recommend this book to you: anyone who is keen on Jane Austen's works will enjoy delving into the minutiae of real people's lives - especially as many of the lives have telling details which echo in Austen's works.
Is it too much to hope that this book will soon appear in a Kindle edition?
Her previous work, "The Gentleman's Daughter" was a wonderfully detailed exploration of the intimate lives of women in the 18th century and helped many of us to a greater understanding of Jane Austen's female character's lives, setting them in a recognisable historical context .Her new book "Behind Closed Doors : at home in Georgian England" once again takes the domestic realm as it subject but details it on a much wider scale.
She does not concentrate on one class of people but considers, in minute detail, the intimate lives of landladies and lodgers, tradesmen and women, professionals and aristocrats living in both London and in the provinces.
Its scale is breathtaking and the detail, delicious. And what I really adore is that she admits the historical truth of Jane Austen's writings by including copious quotes from the six novels to illustrate her points. Indeed, she devotes almost half a chapter of the book to consider the way in which the subject of the home is treated by Austen's heroines and heroes, even going so far as to paraphrase the famous opening sentence of Pride and Prejudice.
"It is a truth universally acknowledged that a Georgian house with a drawing room,French windows and lawns must be in want of a mistress..."
It was an irresistible and understandable opportunity ....I daresay had I been given the chance to play with that famous line, I would not have let it pass either...
While reading Professor Vickery's descriptions of the lives and experiences of real individuals the Jane Austen devotee will find many parallels with the situations in which her characters find themselves.
The book is beautifully produced , printed on fine glossy paper and illustrated in black and white and colour with very appropriate and carefully chosen illustrations.
I confess I have devoured this book and read it quickly almost at one sittting.I am going to revisit it over the next few weeks savouring its detail. I highly recommend this book to you: anyone who is keen on Jane Austen's works will enjoy delving into the minutiae of real people's lives - especially as many of the lives have telling details which echo in Austen's works.
Is it too much to hope that this book will soon appear in a Kindle edition?
28 of 29 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
An Englishman's home, as the saying goes, may be his castle, but three hundred years ago it was becoming so much more. In the 18th century, the English home served as a place in which its inhabitants sought to define themselves through the use of décor. As more people socialized in their homes, their living spaces became venues in which their identity could be displayed for others to see for themselves. The emergence and development of this trend is the subject of Amanda Vickery's book, which analyzes the lives of the men and women of Georgian England by examining the homes in which they lived.
In studying Georgian homes, Vickery uses a number of different perspectives. Among her goals is the reintroduction of men into the picture, which she does most notably in her chapter on the homes of bachelors. Yet as she demonstrates, the furnishing and decoration of homes was predominantly a female concern, albeit one often handled in consultation with the men of the household. Such decisions were often mundane, and focused more on simple maintenance rather than grand refurbishment, but all of them reflected the interests of the participants and were shaped by the concept of "taste" that emerged during this period, which charted a path that increasing numbers were compelled to take.
Detailed, insightful, and well-written, Vickery's book offers a fascinating examination of life in Georgian England. Because of the limitations of her sources, it is by necessity an examination focused primarily on the upper classes, yet she succeeds in taking account books, ledgers, and other mundane sources to reconstruct their lives, showing the growing importance of home life and the weight contemporaries placed on defining their domestic environment. Her success in unearthing these details and bringing the Georgian world back to life makes this book a necessary read for anyone interested in 18th century England, one that will likely serve as an indispensable study of the subject for decades to come.
In studying Georgian homes, Vickery uses a number of different perspectives. Among her goals is the reintroduction of men into the picture, which she does most notably in her chapter on the homes of bachelors. Yet as she demonstrates, the furnishing and decoration of homes was predominantly a female concern, albeit one often handled in consultation with the men of the household. Such decisions were often mundane, and focused more on simple maintenance rather than grand refurbishment, but all of them reflected the interests of the participants and were shaped by the concept of "taste" that emerged during this period, which charted a path that increasing numbers were compelled to take.
Detailed, insightful, and well-written, Vickery's book offers a fascinating examination of life in Georgian England. Because of the limitations of her sources, it is by necessity an examination focused primarily on the upper classes, yet she succeeds in taking account books, ledgers, and other mundane sources to reconstruct their lives, showing the growing importance of home life and the weight contemporaries placed on defining their domestic environment. Her success in unearthing these details and bringing the Georgian world back to life makes this book a necessary read for anyone interested in 18th century England, one that will likely serve as an indispensable study of the subject for decades to come.
27 of 36 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This is an obviously well researched book, with Vickery pulling from many different sources. However, with many repetitions of statements already made (often in the same chapter), it seems the book could have been almost half its size. The chapters themselves also seem to deal with very much the same subject in households, namely, the difference and relationship between men and women. Fair enough, but not as varied as the description of the book would have you believe.
There are also statements of the blindingly obvious, such as- when someone wipes faeces on your front door, it is a statement of their personal dislike of you....Wow. You don't say. Another gem was 'kitchens represented not just a special room for the business of cooking, but also a space for storing the expanding battery of equipment employed for processing food and drink.' Right-not the most informative of sentences, but admittedly true- still, not really restricted to the 18th and 19th century's.
I personally think the author made more of an effort to sound intellectual rather than impart actual knowledge deserving of a book of this size. I learnt, but not as much as I hoped to, and the book was therefore a bit of a struggle to read- waiting for the repetition and obvious statements to end, and for the learning to begin.
There are also statements of the blindingly obvious, such as- when someone wipes faeces on your front door, it is a statement of their personal dislike of you....Wow. You don't say. Another gem was 'kitchens represented not just a special room for the business of cooking, but also a space for storing the expanding battery of equipment employed for processing food and drink.' Right-not the most informative of sentences, but admittedly true- still, not really restricted to the 18th and 19th century's.
I personally think the author made more of an effort to sound intellectual rather than impart actual knowledge deserving of a book of this size. I learnt, but not as much as I hoped to, and the book was therefore a bit of a struggle to read- waiting for the repetition and obvious statements to end, and for the learning to begin.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A great resource
This is a scholarly but very accessible book - full of interesting information and useful for the researcher and for the general reader.
Published 5 months ago by M. Chan
A Vist To Georgian England
Regarding Behind Closed Doors:At home in Georgian England, I sadly have not yet delved into this book as deeply as I would like to,however skimming through it promises to offer me... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Barbara D. Zambrana
Hard work
This is a book of two halves. When Vickery is analysing account books and diaries it is quite interesting though she does sometimes state the 'bleedin obvious'. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Chris Chamberlain
Behind closed doors
This was bought as a Christmas present for my mother who tells me that she is delighted with it and it is a very good read
Published 17 months ago by Benji
Taste: The balance of power in the Georgian Household
A carefully researched and vigourously presented study of Georgian homelife as interpreted through building, decor, fashion and customs. Read more
Published 17 months ago by S. Bloxham
The vitally important 'Behind Closed Doors'
`Behind Closed Doors' is an astonishing achievement. To say I enjoyed it is an understatement, really - the effect of the book was truly thrilling, in a way you don't expect when... Read more
Published 19 months ago by grantz
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