Genteel Women: Empire And Domestic Material Culture, 1840â€1910

"During the latter half of the nineteenth century and the first decades of the twentieth, colonial expansion prompted increasing numbers of genteel women to establish their family homes in far-flung corners of the world. This work explores ways in which the women's values, as expressed through their personal and household possessions, specifically their dress, living rooms, gardens and food, were instrumental in constructing various forms of genteel society in alien settings. In this title, newly available in paperback, Lawrence examines the transfer and adaptation of British female gentility in various locations across the British Empire, including Africa, New Zealand and India. In so doing, she offers a revised reading of the behavior, motivations and practices of female elites, thereby calling into doubt the oft-stated notion that such women were a constraining element in new societies"--Publisher's description Front matter 1 Dedication 6 Contents 8 List of illustrations 9 General editor's introduction 14 Acknowledgements 17 Introduction: gentility and the performance of self 20 ‘Dress indicates mind’: the art and practice of appearance management 31 ‘The arrangement requires much taste and judgement’: creating critical space, the living room 92 ‘No-one can over-estimate the pleasure of tending fl owers’: tasteful gardening and growing attachment 154 ‘The guests being seated at the dinner table, the lady serves the soup’: food and household management 205 Conclusion: the work of migrancy 252 Select bibliography 258 Index 276 This book examines the transfer and adaptation of British female gentility in various locations across the British Empire, including Africa, New Zealand and India, as expressed through their personal and household possessions, specifically their dress, living rooms, gardens and food. -- .