The American Victorian Woman: The Myth and the Reality

This new socio-historical study explores the dynamics of growing up female in the second half of the nineteenth century–a time when traditional patriarchal standards were beginning to be questioned by small groups of courageous reformers. Donnelly chronicles the lives of middle class and working women–white and black–from childhood to old age, the hardships they endured, their daily activities and their concerns, pleasures, and accomplishments.