The Politics of Domestic Authority in Britain Since 1800

This collection by some of the leading experts in the field examines the power struggles that have shaped domestic life in Britain since the early nineteenth century. Far from being the tranquil refuge from public life that Victorians liked to imagine, the home saw constant and often violent - contests for authority between husbands and wives, parents and children, and masters and servants. This collection offers striking new insights into these relationships and looks at the way in...
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This collection by some of the leading experts in the field examines the power struggles that have shaped domestic life in Britain since the early nineteenth century. Far from being the tranquil refuge from public life that Victorians liked to imagine, the home saw constant and often violent - contests for authority between husbands and wives, parents and children, and masters and servants. This collection offers striking new insights into these relationships and looks at the way in which domestic authority was challenged by people or institutions outside the family, such as godparents, schools, and the legal system. The collection draws on social, cultural, legal and literary history, as well as social geography, to offer a critical assessment of some of the fundamental 'grand narratives' of modern British history: 'separate spheres', the rise of companionate marriage, the decline of deference, and sexual 'mutualism'. The Politics of Domestic Authority will appeal to anyone interested in recent work on the home, childhood, welfare systems, the family, generation, and gender in modern British and Irish history."