The Short Life and Long Times of Mrs Beeton

Author(s): Kathryn Hughes

Biography

Kathryn Hughes reveals here that Bella Beaton was a million miles away from the stoical, middle-aged matron. She was in fact only 25 years old when she created the guide to successful family living and had only had five years experience of her own to inform her. She lived in a semi-detached house in Pinner with the bare minimum of servants. She bordered on being a workaholic, and certainly wasn't the meek and mild little wife that her book was aimed at - more a highly intelligent and ambitious young woman. After preaching about wholesome and clean living, Bella Beeton died at the age of 28 from (contrary to her parent's belief) bad hygiene. Kathryn Hughes sympathetically explores the irony behind Bella Beeton's public and private image in this highly readable and informative study of Victorian life style.


Product Information

Kathryn Hughes is the author of 'The Victorian Governess' and the hugely acclaimed 'George Eliot: The Last Victorian'. Educated at Oxford University, she holds a PhD in Victorian studies. She is a visiting lecturer at several British universities and reviews regularly for the Daily Telegraph and the Literary Review.

General Fields

  • : 9781841153742
  • : HarperCollins Publishers
  • : HarperPerennial
  • : July 2006
  • : books

Special Fields

  • : Kathryn Hughes
  • : Paperback