Family Fortunes has become a seminal text in class and gender history. Published to wide critical acclaim in 1987, its influence in the field continues to be extensive. It has cast new light on the perception of middle-class society and gender relations between 1780 and 1850. This revised edition contains a substantial new introduction, placing the original survey in its historiographical context. Leonore Davidoff and Catherine Hall evaluate the readings their text has received and broaden their study by taking into account recent developments and shifts in the field. They apply current perceptions of history to their original project, and see new motives and meanings emerge that reinforce their argument.

Family Fortunes: Men and Women of the English Middle Class, 1750-1850

Politics & Social Sciences

Davidoff, Leonore

Hall, Catherine

Social Sciences

Taylor & Francis Books Ltd

Family Fortunes: Men and Women of the English Middle Class, 1780-1850

Hutchinson

"Social life for the middle and upper classes of the Victorian and Edwardian eras pivoted around a regular calendar of events-'the season'. Leonore Davidoff probes beneath the glitter and ceremony of these social events to reveal that they were much more than an enjoyable way of filling in time-they were also a highly effective way of linking family life with public life and allocating a 'place' and 'position' to people in society." (taken from back cover)

The best circles: Society etiquette and the season

Century Hutchinson*

Brothers and sisters remain, for those that have them, an inextricable part of existence. In adult life they may never be in contact but they cannot be formally divorced. Brothers and sisters are frequently life's longest relationship. Yet until recently, historians have scarcely noticed. Thicker than Water is a pioneering history of sibling relationships in the long nineteenth century, from the last decades of the eighteenth to the first decades of the twentieth. The principal focus is on Britain, the first major capitalist society, and its middle classes, who were at the core of the nascent new order. It was their extensive family networks that provided the capital, personnel, skills, and contacts crucial to the rapidly expanding commercial and professional enterprises of the Victorian era. Davidoff examines what we know about sibling relationships at this time, before delving deeper, looking at their uses and meaning for British middle class families, how they operated within the economic, social, cultural, and religious constraints of their place and time, and how they changed as families became smaller from the end of the nineteenth century onwards. The issues raised throughout the book are grounded in an exploration of some specific themes, sibling intimacy and incest, sibling death, as well as in case studies of famous sibling relationships, such as that between William Gladstone and his sisters, and a revealing account of the household relations of perhaps the most influential interpreter of personal and familial life in modern society, Sigmund Freud.

Thicker than Water: Siblings and their Relations, 1780-1920

Parenting & Relationships

Oxford University Press

Thicker than Water is a pioneering study of sibling relationships from the last decades of the eighteenth century to the first decades of the twentieth. The particular focus of the book is on Britain and its middle classes, who were at its core, and the role of family networks created through sibling relationships. Leanore Davidoff examines what we know about the relationships of brothers and sisters at this time, before delving deeper, looking at their uses and meaning for British middle class families, how they operated within the economic, social, cultural, and religious constraints of their place and time, and how they changed as families became smaller from the end of the nineteenth century onwards.

History

Europe

"Family Fortunes is a major groundbreaking study that will become a classic in its field. I was fascinated by the information it provided and the argument it established about the role of gender in the construction of middle-class values, family life, and property relations. "The book explores how the middle class constructed its own institutions, material culture and values during the industrial revolution, looking at two settings—urban manufacturing Birmingham and rural Essex—both centers of active capitalist development. The use of sources is dazzling: family business records, architectural designs, diaries, wills and trusts, newspapers, prescriptive literature, sermons, manuscript census tracts, the papers of philanthropic societies, popular fiction, and poetry. "Family Fortunes occupies a place beside Mary Ryan's The Cradle of the Middle Class and Suzanne Lebsock's Free Women of Petersburg. It provides scholars with a definitive study of the middle class in England, and facilitates a comparative perspective on the history of middle-class women, property, and the family."—Judith Walkowitz, Johns Hopkins University

Family Fortunes: Men and Women of the English Middle Class, 1780-1850 (Women in Culture and Society)

University of Chicago Press

"Family Fortunes is a major groundbreaking study that will become a classic in its field. I was fascinated by the information it provided and the argument it established about the role of gender in the construction of middle-class values, family life, and property relations. "The book explores how the middle class constructed its own institutions, material culture and values during the industrial revolution, looking at two settings—urban manufacturing Birmingham and rural Essex—both centers of active capitalist development. The use of sources is dazzling: family business records, architectural designs, diaries, wills and trusts, newspapers, prescriptive literature, sermons, manuscript census tracts, the papers of philanthropic societies, popular fiction, and poetry. "Family Fortunes occupies a place beside Mary Ryan's The Cradle of the Middle Class and Suzanne Lebsock's Free Women of Petersburg. It provides scholars with a definitive study of the middle class in England, and facilitates a comparative perspective on the history of middle-class women, property, and the family."—Judith Walkowitz, Johns Hopkins University

Family Fortunes: Men and women of the English Middle Class 1750-1850

Routledge

Family Fortunes has become a seminal text in class and gender history. Published to wide critical acclaim in 1987, its influence in the field continues to be extensive. It has cast new light on the perception of middle-class society and gender relations between 1780 and 1850. This revised edition contains a substantial new introduction, placing the original survey in its historiographical context. Leonore Davidoff and Catherine Hall evaluate the readings their text has received and broaden their study by taking into account recent developments and shifts in the field. They apply current perceptions of history to their original project, and see new motives and meanings emerge that reinforce their argument.

Family Fortunes

Worlds Between: Historical Perspectives on Gender and Class

First Published in 1995. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Americas

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Books by Davidoff, Leonore

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Davidoff, Leonore. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Family Fortunes: Men and Women of the English Middle Class, 1750-1850

Family Fortunes: Men and Women of the English Middle Class, 1780-1850

The best circles: Society etiquette and the season

Thicker than Water: Siblings and their Relations, 1780-1920

Thicker than Water: Siblings and their Relations, 1780-1920

Family Fortunes: Men and Women of the English Middle Class, 1780-1850 (Women in Culture and Society)

Family Fortunes: Men and Women of the English Middle Class, 1780-1850 (Women in Culture and Society)

Family Fortunes: Men and women of the English Middle Class 1750-1850

Family Fortunes

Worlds Between: Historical Perspectives on Gender and Class