First published in 1979. This book examines the distressed gentlewoman stereotype, primarily through a study of the experience of emigration among single middle-class women between 1830 and 1914. Based largely on a study of government and philanthropic emigration projects, it argues that the image of the downtrodden resident governess does inadequate justice to Victorian middle-class women's responses to the experience of economic and social decline and to insufficient female employment opportunities. This title will be of interest to students of history.

Cruelty and Companionship is an account of the intimate but darker side of marriage in Victorian and Edwardian England. Hammerton draws upon previously unpublished material from the records of the divorce court and magistrates' courts to challenge many popular views about family patterns. His findings open a rare window on the sexual politics of everyday life and the routine tensions which conditioned marriage in middle- and working-class families. Using contemporary evidence ranging from prescriptive texts and public debate to autobiography and fiction, Hammerton examines the intense public scrutiny which accompanied the routine exposure of marital breakdown, and charts a growing critique of men's behavior in marriage which increasingly demanded regulation and reform. The resulting critical discourse, ranging from paternalist to feminist, casts new light on the origins and trajectory of nineteenth-century feminism, legal change, and our understanding of the changing expression of masculinity. Cruelty and Companionship will appeal to students and teachers of nineteenth- and twentieth-century social history and gender studies. It should also interest students of family sociology and social work, and general readers interested in family relationships, domestic violence and women.

Cruelty and Companionship is an account of the intimate but darker sides of marriage in Victorian and Edwardian England. Drawing upon previously unpublished material from the records of the divorce court and matrimonial proceedings in magistrates' courts, the author challenges many popular views about changing family patterns. It opens a rare window onto the sexual politics of everyday life and the routine tensions which conditioned marriage in middle and working class families. Using contemporary evidence ranging from prescriptive texts and public debate to autobiography and fiction, Hammerton examines the intense public scrutiny which accompanied the routine exposure of marital breakdown, and charts a growing critique of men's behaviour in marriage which increasingly demanded regulation and reform. The critical discourse which resulted, ranging from paternalists to feminists, casts new light on the origins and trajectory of nineteenth century feminism, legal change and our understanding of changing expressions of masculinity.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203191919

First published in 1979. This book examines the distressed gentlewoman stereotype, primarily through a study of the experience of emigration among single middle-class women between 1830 and 1914. Based largely on a study of government and philanthropic emigration projects, it argues that the image of the downtrodden resident governess does inadequate justice to Victorian middle-class women's responses to the experience of economic and social decline and to insufficient female employment opportunities. This title will be of interest to students of history.

This is the first social history to explore experiences of British emigrants from the peak years of the 1960s to the emigration resurgence of the turn of the twentieth century. It explores migrant experiences in Australia, Canada and New Zealand alongside other countries. The book charts the gradual reinvention of the 'British diaspora' from a postwar migration of austerity to a modern migration of prosperity. It offers a different way of writing migration history, based on life histories but exploring mentalities as well as experiences, against a setting of deep social and economic change. Key moments are the 1970s loss of Britons' privilege in Commonwealth destination countries, 'Thatcher's refugees' in the 1980s and shifting attitudes to cosmopolitanism and global citizenship by the 1990s. It charts a long process of change from the 1960s to patterns of discretionary and nomadic migration, which became more common practice from the end of the twentieth century. -- .

More than a million Britons emigrated to Australia between the 1940s and 1970s. They were the famous 'ten pound Poms' and this is their story. Illuminated by the fascinating testimony of migrant life histories, this is the first substantial history of their experience and fills a gaping hole in the literature of emigration. The authors, both leading figures in the fields of oral history and migration studies, draw upon a rich life history archive of letters, diaries, personal photographs and hundreds of oral history interviews with former migrants, including those who settled in Australia and those who returned to Britain. They offer original interpretations of key historical themes, including: motivations for emigration; gender relations and the family dynamics of migration; the 'very familiar and awfully strange' confrontation with the new world; the anguish of homesickness and return; and the personal and national identities of both settlers and returnees, fifty years on. Accessible and appealing, this book will engage readers interested in British and Australian migration history and intrigued about the significance of migrant memories for individuals, families and nations. -- .