Search

In the early eighteenth century, the Duchess of Queensberry arrived at the Bath Assembly wearing a white apron, only to have it torn from her person by a Master of Ceremonies who declared that only a lady's maid would appear dressed so. This article looks at the apron as a garment worn by elite women in eighteenth-century England in order to consider some of the questions raised by this encounter. Aprons were closely linked with the labouring classes in contemporary representation, and elite women wearing them were therefore accused of imitating the dress and behaviours of their inferiors. While emulation from below has received due attention from scholars, this apparent imitation from above remains underexplored. Elite women certainly did masquerade as country girls at times; however, the apron as an item of elite dress was not as transformative as contemporaries feared. Instead, it became subject to expectations and conventions governed by the rhythms of elite everyday life. Though the Duchess of Queensberry became infamous, elite women wearing aprons were most likely to provoke censure when they defied these conventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines Newcastle upon Tyne as a case study for the concept of a ‘long eighteenth century’. It is argued that from the late seventeenth century until the 1830s the town, despite some social tensions, demonstrated considerable continuity in terms of its political, social, and economic structure. This gave Newcastle stability and cohesion, but allowed limited economic development and increased prosperity. It became a thriving cultural centre and a ‘polite society’ emerged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investigates into how the economic and financial aspects of the working-class life were ordered and regulated by the civil law in Victorian England. Accounts on the transformation of the English civil law in the Victorian period; Division of classes; Class bias and prejudice; Money management of the working-class.

Discusses that domestic relations in eighteenth-century Great Britain was supposed to run its `secret course.' Definition of `domestic joy' among family members; Value of household seclusion; Suppression of political realities within the family.

Uses porcelain china to denote women and their weaknesses. Image of china as a marker for female superficiality; Issues on the essentials of feminism; Females as desiring subjects.