Light of the Home

I'm hesitant to mark this down as ‘Victorian', since the title is misleading; it deals exclusively and entirely with the lives of American women in the 1800s. Some people consider that the ‘American Victorian Era'. I consider them mad, maaaad I tell you. (I dislike naming any period of American history after a monarch, for my own priggish political reasons.)

That is my major complaint with the book. My minor complaint is how overly detailed it sometimes gets, turning vibrant prose suddenly dry. But beyond that? This book is excellent and highly recommended, even if you're like me and not someone hugely interested in the period it covers.

I like best how well it acknowledges the greater factors pressing on the lives of women. It never turns away from acknowledging the pervasive influence of sexism, racism and classism on the life of Americans past. That is the book's greatest strength, and it cannot be understated.