Women's Lives

“Helps you put those in your female line into context, whether they were factory workers, Land Girls, aristocrats, or even criminals!” —Family History Monthly

Women’s lives have traditionally gone unrecorded in history. But housewives, factory girls and servants all had their own distinctive voices, and, if you know where to look, there are plenty of sources to explore.

Jennifer Newby’s guide to women’s social history between 1800 and 1939 includes essential starting points for research. A useful handbook for family historians, as well as an engaging read for social history lovers, each chapter focuses on a different group, with suggestions for further reading and a helpful timeline.

Compare the lives of factory workers, middle-class women, domestic servants, criminals, aristocrats and agricultural laborers. Hear the voices of obscure women alongside those of celebrities from rebellious servant Hannah Cullwick to daring aristocrat, Lady Colin Campbell, prostitute Ellen Reece, and bored middle-class daughter, Katherine Chorley.

If you want to trace female ancestors or simply discover more about how women lived in the past, then this book is ideal to help you get started with your own research.

“Jennifer Newby tackles this subject in a readable way, bringing it alive in every aspect: domestic service, on the land, in the factories, middle class women, aristocratic women, and criminal women.” —Ryedale Gazette and Herald

“An invaluable research tool and a well compiled collection of historical accounts.  It would make a suitable read for not only the student or early career researcher, but also the casual reader interested in learning more about the topic of women’s social history.” —Feminist Studies Association