Female Entrepreneurship in Nineteenth-Century England: Engagement in the Urban Economy (Palgrave Studies in Economic History)

Aston challenges and reshapes the on-going debate concerning social status, economic opportunity, and gender roles in nineteenth-century society. Sources including trade directories, census returns, probate records, newspapers, advertisements, and photographs are analysed and linked to demonstrate conclusively that women in nineteenth-century England were far more prevalent in business than previously acknowledged. Moreover, women were able to establish and expand their businesses far beyond the scope of inter-generational caretakers in sectors of the economy traditionally viewed as unfeminine, and acquire the assets and possessions that were necessary to secure middle-class status. These women serve as a powerful reminder that the middle-class woman’s retreat from economic activity during the nineteenth-century, so often accepted as axiomatic, was not the case. In fact, women continued to act as autonomous and independent entrepreneurs, and used business ownership as a platform to participate in the economic, philanthropic, and political public sphere. "Aston challenges and reshapes the on-going debate concerning social status, economic opportunity, and gender roles in nineteenth-century society. Sources include trade directories, census returns, probate records, newspapers, advertisements, and photographs are analysed and linked to demonstrate conclusively that women in nineteenth-century England were far more prevalent in business than has previously been acknowledged. Moreover, women were able to establish and expand their businesses far beyond the scope of intergenerational caretakers in sectors of the economy traditionally viewed as unfeminine, and acquire the assets and possessions that were necessary to secure middle-class status. These women serve as a powerful reminder that the middle-class women's retreat from economic activity during the nineteenth-century, so often accepted as axiomatic, was not the case. In fact, women continued to act as autonomous and independent entrepreneurs, and used business ownership as a platform to participate in the economic, philanthropic, and political public sphere."-- Provided by publisher "Aston challenges and reshapes the on-going debate concerning social status, economic opportunity, and gender roles in nineteenth-century society. Sources include trade directories, census returns, probate records, newspapers, advertisements, and photographs are analysed and linked to demonstrate conclusively that women in nineteenth-century England were far more prevalent in business than has previously been acknowledged. Moreover, women were able to establish and expand their businesses far beyond the scope of intergenerational caretakers in sectors of the economy traditionally viewed as unfeminine, and acquire the assets and possessions that were necessary to secure middle-class status. These women serve as a powerful reminder that the middle-class women's retreat from economic activity during the nineteenth-century, so often accepted as axiomatic, was not the case. In fact, women continued to act as autonomous and independent entrepreneurs, and used business ownership as a platform to participate in the economic, philanthropic, and political public sphere."--[4ème de couverture] Acknowledgements 8 Contents 10 List of Figures 12 List of Tables 14 List of Charts 16 List of Graphs 18 1: Introduction 19 2: Locating Female Business Owners in the Historiography 40 3: Women and Their Businesses 70 4: Who Was the Victorian Businesswoman? 119 5: The Social Network 155 6: Life After Death 190 7: Conclusion 225 Appendix I: Name and Occupation of 100 Case Studies of Female Business Owners from Birmingham and Leeds 241 Bibliography 244 Primary Source Material 251 Leeds Trade Directories 252 Newspapers accessed via Nineteenth British Library Newspapers Online 253 Last Wills and Testaments 254 Other Sources 259 Index 261 Front Matter....Pages i-xvii Introduction....Pages 1-21 Locating Female Business Owners in the Historiography....Pages 23-52 Women and Their Businesses....Pages 53-101 Who Was the Victorian Businesswoman?....Pages 103-138 The Social Network....Pages 139-173 Life After Death....Pages 175-209 Conclusion....Pages 211-226 Back Matter....Pages 227-257