Daily Life in 18th-Century England

Subjects:

• History » European History -- Early Modern/Renaissance
• Education » English Education

Reviews:

• This book provides an excellent look at what it must have been like to live in England at that time....An interested reader can find recipes to recreate an 18th-century meal, rules for games, children's rhymes and song lyrics, how much someone earned in a certain occupation, and other excellent examples of everyday life in that time and place. High school readers will find this an easy and interesting read.
  —The Book Report
• Although some excellent specialized studies are available, very few general studies of social life and customs in eighteenth-century England have been published in the past 75 years. None of them have the scope and detail of the present volume, which can be read through with pleasure or (due to its arrangement and extensive index) used for reference purposes....Recommended for circulating collections of public and academic libraries and for reference collections of libraries that support English or European history curricula.
  —American Reference Books Annual
• Olsen's descriptions are so lively that the book is a virtual tour of England in the 1700s....Every part of the coutnry and every facet of life come under Olsen's magnifying glass....Daily Life in 18th - Century England is a useful compilation of a great deal of interesting and useful information, with a detailed bibliography for readers who want to examine primary and secondary sources. Illustrations are plentiful and helpful. Anyone with an interest in eighteenth-century or Victorian England will find much to enjoy here.
  —Reviewers Consortium
• [t]he author and Greenwood Press are to be commended.
  —Albion

Table of Contents:

• Introduction
• A Nation of Prime Ministers: Politics
• Not Created Equal: Class and Race
• Twenty Pounds Will Marry Me: The Family
• The Supreme City: London
• They Were Once, a Kind of Barbarians: The Provinces
• Up to My Knees in Brick and Mortar: Housing
• Cork Rumps and Cocked Hats: Clothing
• Days, Weeks, Months, and Years: The Passage of Time
• Do What You're Bidden: Work and Wages
• What Joy Was Mine!: Entertainment
• The Turnpike Roads of the Kingdom: Transportation and Communication
• The Main Business of the Life of Man: The Economy
• Robbers, Burglars, etc.: Law and Order
• A Progeny of Learning: Education
• The Roast Beef of Old England: Food and Drink
• I Love a Mob: Behavior
• One Foot Within the Grave: Health Care and Hygiene
• Religion
• Orreries, Dephlogisticated Air, and Spinning Jennies: Science and Technology
• Glossary
• Bibliography
• Index