Woman's Life in Colonial Days

by Carl Holliday

This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, American History, Womens, Collections

319 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1922

About the author

1879-1936

Reviews

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book some time ago and when I picked it up again recently, I cringed. The text was first published in 1922 and so much research has been conducted since then that this book had to be hopelessly out of date. However, when I delved into it, I soon realized why I bought it in the first place. The text is chock-full of primary source quotes from letters and journals. These materials only get better with age! There is so much original material that the reader can form her own (or his own) conclusions. So this is a great and relatively easy to read source covering topics such as religion, clothing and social life.

[Susan Howson · Rating 3 out of 5]

First, this kind of book functions as two sorts of histories. A 1922 dude’s adorably condescending view of women (and some really nasty stuff about black humans being subhuman) plus actual research and fascinating quotes from the 17th and 18th centuries. It probably should make me despair, but it doesn’t. It makes me hopeful. We’ve come a long way. And it’s also useful to understand the prevailing logic of our grandparents’ time so as the better to understand.

Second, it’s a surprisingly fun read. Although mostly for history nerds. I wanted more “this is the daily life of a working woman” but it’s really more about literate, famous ones. Although as Carl says, there’s precious little surviving to tell us about the former.

[Leah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Informative, but not terribly well organized. There is a vast difference between the lives of Puritan women right off the Mayflower, a Dutch New Yorker during the Seven Years War, and a late eighteenth century Southern plantation bride. I appreciate that Holliday wanted to be thorough, but he might have been served better if he had divided his information by era. Though the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries may not seem that different from a modern perspective, when you're discussing the nitty gritty details of marital life, religion and initiative, the differences are very sharp indeed. Again, this book is very informative, but the layout is muddled.

Also, for what it's worth, this book was written in 1922, and therefore peppered with era-appropriate sexism and racism. And though slaves and Native Americans are mentioned, there is no discussion of what their lives might be like. None of that is unexpected in a book from it's time, but there it is. Expect it.

If you're looking for a good book about Revolution era women, I'd recommend Revolutionary Mothers: Women in the Struggle for America's Independence. Still looking for a good book about Colonial women.

[Jo-Ann Leake · Rating 4 out of 5]

Certainly this text is dated, and some readers may find certain content offensive. However, it is a valuable resource for amateur historians looking for material written in closer time proximity to events like the American Revolution. Worth reviewing for the topic matter, with some perceptive analysis from the author in regard to the oppression of women in early colonial times and the grave toll it took on many of them, and their children.

[Erika · Rating 2 out of 5]

Partway through the book, I looked at the copyright date which explained the sexism and utter racism of the book. The book was published in 1922, so it was quite dated and included a lot of opinions. I was hoping for more details about daily life for women in colonial days, but it was more about overarching themes in colonial life. I enjoyed the letters and journal entries.

[Donna · Rating 2 out of 5]

I stopped reading this book at page 134 when I thought I was going to die of boredom. This was written in 1922, which I didn't realize when I got the book, so the non-fiction writing style is antiquated and not very well-written or entertaining. The author includes way too many quotes from direct sources like journals and letters. Some quotes are informative and interesting, but too many and you feel like you're reading a (badly written) research paper. He makes many questionable assumptions and presents them as fact, which he wouldn't be able to get away with very easily today, and he meanders off topic often. There is some interesting information here, but it's too bad that it's presented in the way that it is.

[p roper · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started and finished several books while reading this one but not because this is hard to read or dull; rather it is mine and the others read were borrowed from friends or the library. I wanted to read this mostly for information about how women lived during colonial days and I was not disappointed; I learned quite a lot. However, I also learned something of how women were thought of during the early 1900's as well due to the book being a reprint of the original published in 1922.
Basically, a good, easy to read book with lots of information about women in the 17th and 18th centuries.

[Noel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I came back to this one, as I'd really like to read through some of my lingering non-fiction books. For some reason this one is just not an entertaining read, I'm not sure if it's disjointed, or just not presented in a way that flows (same thing LOL), but in any case, it does have many interesting facts. Just wish it had been presented in a more readable format.

[Noel]

I came back to this one, as I'd really like to read through some of my lingering non-fiction books. For some reason this one is just not an entertaining read, I'm not sure if it's disjointed, or just not presented in a way that flows (same thing LOL), but in any case, it does have many interesting facts. Just wish it had been presented in a more readable format.

[Kristen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Plenty of useful information but very hard to wade through due to writing style and probably year of original publication. At times the author gives them impression of appreciating more about colonial women than the women of his own time.
Personally I think it would be enjoyable to read primary sources from the women themselves than a collection of quotes analyzed many years later.

[Penelope Marzec · Rating 4 out of 5]

An in-depth study of womens' lives in colonial times peppered with diary excerpts. The author has detailed regional differences and explained changes during the early, middle, and late periods of that era. Interesting and informative.

[Caety · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written in 1922. This book was a very slow read for me. The author pulls information from documents of the time period and reports it in that manner. However, if you can drudge through the information, it's an interesting insight of women in colonial times.

[Allison · Rating 2 out of 5]

An okay book, but it gets pretty patronizing often, not surprising though since it was written in 1922.