The Experience of Domestic Service for Women in Early Modern London

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Gender Studies, Women&
Cover of the book The Experience of Domestic Service for Women in Early Modern London by , Taylor and Francis
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: ISBN: 9781351889995
Publisher: Taylor and Francis Publication: December 5, 2016
Imprint: Routledge Language: English
Author:
ISBN: 9781351889995
Publisher: Taylor and Francis
Publication: December 5, 2016
Imprint: Routledge
Language: English

The late seventeenth- and early eighteenth-century texts presented here describe female servants' experiences of work in early modern London. Domestics' court depositions offer qualitative evidence that female servants were an important support of emergent capitalism in the early modern metropolis. Exposed here are the contractual underpinnings of domestic service for women; the mobility that domestic servants enjoyed; and the concern that this mobility generated in the authorities. Paid domestic work has traditionally been regarded by historians simply as a pre-marital phase of women's lives. In fact, the depositions in this volume show that service was a prototypical form of female wage labour. While some women left service once they married, others relied on domestic positions as an avenue to generating income as life-long single women, as married women, and as widows. Even though they usually lived in poverty, labouring women who worked as servants in London had considerably more agency than has earlier been recognized. Female servants who deposed before London ecclesiastical and parish courts three centuries ago were mostly non-literate. Strikingly, their individual voices are clear and distinct as they present information about their working and personal circumstances.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

The late seventeenth- and early eighteenth-century texts presented here describe female servants' experiences of work in early modern London. Domestics' court depositions offer qualitative evidence that female servants were an important support of emergent capitalism in the early modern metropolis. Exposed here are the contractual underpinnings of domestic service for women; the mobility that domestic servants enjoyed; and the concern that this mobility generated in the authorities. Paid domestic work has traditionally been regarded by historians simply as a pre-marital phase of women's lives. In fact, the depositions in this volume show that service was a prototypical form of female wage labour. While some women left service once they married, others relied on domestic positions as an avenue to generating income as life-long single women, as married women, and as widows. Even though they usually lived in poverty, labouring women who worked as servants in London had considerably more agency than has earlier been recognized. Female servants who deposed before London ecclesiastical and parish courts three centuries ago were mostly non-literate. Strikingly, their individual voices are clear and distinct as they present information about their working and personal circumstances.

More books from Taylor and Francis

Cover of the book The Global Financial Crisis by
Cover of the book Aspects of Roman History 82BC-AD14 by
Cover of the book Revival: Outspoken Essays on Music (1922) by
Cover of the book Case Studies In Educational Change by
Cover of the book The Industrial Revolution by
Cover of the book Rush to Policy by
Cover of the book Economic Integration in the Americas by
Cover of the book Global Youth? by
Cover of the book Cyberspace Divide by
Cover of the book Indian Music by
Cover of the book Espionage and the Roots of the Cold War by
Cover of the book Ubiquitous Computing, Complexity and Culture by
Cover of the book In Search of Jung (RLE: Jung) by
Cover of the book International Trade and Carriage of Goods by
Cover of the book Introduction to Court Interpreting by
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy