Victorian working women: Portraits from life

by Michael Hiley

Book by Hiley, Michael

Genres: History

142 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1980

Reviews

[Miss Lemon · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of those stumbled upon people in history that had to dig a little deeper on. Arthur Munby - lived in the heart of London 1857 to early 1900s. A man enamored with the details of the lives of working women of England. His interest was never deviant or sexual but a facination with observing; talking with them to determine their demeanor and how their station/occupation affected their personalities and view of life. He was a detailed diarist and this book includes his observations on every page. A totally untapped view of history from the working girls view. Lots of Victorian studio photo's of the girls as well as some rare outdoor workplace photographs. I'm not sure this book would be interesting to everyone but I felt like I was let into a secret society that few get to hear about.

[Starfish · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book wasn't what I expected -- I thought it would be more photos, but it turned out to be more text, most of it talking about Munby who is the main source of first-hand accounts and whose collection of photographs was the starting point for this book. I was surprised how much of it was about Munby for a book ostensibly about women, but it's interesting and not an arduous read at all, so I forgave it.