Fresh Leaves and Green Pastures

Jane Ellen Panton (1847-1923) was the second daughter of the artist William Powell Frith, and an expert on domestic issues. Published in 1909, this is a further collection of Panton’s memoirs, following her earlier autobiography Leaves from a Life (also reissued in this series). It looks back on life in mid-nineteenth-century England and the changes that had taken place since then, beginning by asking the question of how much the present generation knew about their country’s past. Over fifteen chapters, Panton explores developments in the nature and structure of institutions such as the family, the community, the church, the electorate and the military, deeming certain changes as negative, such as the decline of county families and the gentry, while welcoming others, such as increased opportunities for women. Providing revealing insight into English middle-class concerns in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, this book remains of interest to social historians.