The Victorian Governess by Kathryn Hughes

The Victorian Governess by Kathryn Hughes

The figure of the governess is very familiar from 19th-century literature. Much less is known about the governess in reality. This work explores what life of the home schoolroom was actually like. Drawing on original diaries and a variety of sources, the author describes why the period 1840-80 was the classic age of the governess. She examines their numbers, recruitment, teaching methods, social position and prospects. The governess provides a key to the central Victorian concept of the lady. Her education consisted of a series of accomplishments designed to attract a husband able to keep her in the style to which she had become accustomed from birth. Becoming a governess was the only acceptable way of earning money open to a lady whose family could not support her in leisure. Being paid to educate another woman's children set in play a series of social and emotional tensions. The governess was a surrogate mother, who was herself childless, a young woman whose marriage prospects were restricted, and a family member who was sometimes mistaken for a servant.

SKU	Non disponible
ISBN 13	9781852850029
ISBN 10	1852850027
Titre	The Victorian Governess
Auteur	Kathryn Hughes
État	Non disponible
Type de reliure	Hardback
Éditeur	Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Année de publication	1993-07-01
Nombre de pages	278
Note de couverture	La photo du livre est présentée à titre d'illustration uniquement. La reliure, la couverture ou l'édition réelle peuvent varier.
Note	Non disponible