British Family Life, 1780–1914, ed. Claudia Nelson (general editor) (5 volumes). Volume 1: Growing Up, ed. Claudia Nelson; Volume 2: Husbands and Fathers, ed. Julie-Marie Strange; Volume 3: Wives and Mothers, ed. Susan B. Egenolf; Volume 4: Extended Families, ed. Susan B. Egenolf; Volume 5: Substitute Families, ed. Julie-Marie Strange

Abstract

These volumes, which present a wide range of contemporary documents and sources, trace with great intricacy the immense variety of British family life across the long nineteenth century. There are many delightful gems to be discovered, including archival material and rare printed matter. The volumes also give a voice to a number of authors who have long deserved a wider audience for their contemporary significance, such as the Church of Scotland minister William Duff (1732–1815), and the Baptist author Esther Copley (1786–1851). The collection opens with a volume dedicated to ‘Growing Up’, edited by Claudia Nelson, who is also the general editor. Here, there is a stimulating diversity of texts, and some highly unusual extracts—such as the diary of an Argentinian-born British teenager, Emily Krabbé, visiting London for the first time in 1869. In another interesting move, Nelson reprints extracts of young Louisa Gurney’s diary from the 1790s, as well as the fictional Work-House Boy (1825), written by Louisa (now Hoare) many years later as an adult. Working-class children are less well served, emerging as victims of cruelty and as labouring ‘slaves’, rather than situated within the complex obligations of the family economy and affective ties. Nonetheless, this remains one of the strongest volumes in the collection.