1900 HOUSE by MARK McCRUM and MATTHEW STURGIS. BOOK BLURB: Please click on book title for the amazon.co.uk description.
FIRST SENTENCE {Introduction}: The 1900 House experiment began life as a proposal for a television programme about domestic technology in the twentieth century - and how the numerous changes of the last one hundred years have impacted on people's daily lives.
MEMORABLE MOMENT {Pages 125: 'Social Etiquette'}: The woman of 1900 was advised to put on her prettiest gown, and arm herself with her calling cards and 'a liberal supply of small talk.'
SOURCE: A re-read of a book bought for me many years ago by Mr T.
MY THOUGHTS: A coffee-table sized book that accompanied the 1999 television programme The 1900 House*.
With asides giving lots of actual historical facts from sources such as Cassell's Book of the Household and Mrs Beeton's cookbook, plenty of photographs of the house 'before and after' its transformation as well as diary extracts from the Bowler family who found themselves 'transported' back a century to live life as lived in 1900 this really is a fascinating, visually appealing read that does an amazing job in chronicling every day life in late Victorian Britain making it a great resource for both home and school use.
* View the documentary for free online here.
10 comments:
It sounds like an interesting experiment. I am not familiar with it at all, I'm afraid. I will have to check out the documentary when I get home. Thanks for sharing!
I think this is fascinating! I find the cover of the book quite appealing and believe I could spend much time thumbing through it.
My paternal grandmother was born in 1884 and died in 1985 - I always marveled at the changes she saw in her lifetime.
This does sound fascinating! I will make time to view the documentary soon. Have a terrific Tuesday, Tracy! :)
Interesting book! I like the, "liberal amount of small talk" quote. Things are sure different these days. Now you arm yourself with a smartphone to keep your fingers chatting.
Will have to find this and give it a read, sounds interesting! - Tasha
Thanks for sharing! Have a great day! :)
Hi Tracy,
We don't tend to watch much of what I would classify 'reality TV' so didn't watch any of the series, although friends reported that it was quite good at portraying Victorian living.
We do both however, enjoy making the most of our National Trust membership, so have visited plenty of Victorian houses, enough to get the gist of what life was like, both above and below stairs!
I love to own these kind of coffee table books, that you can pick up on a whim, open at any page and always find something useful to read and digest.
I studied both world and social history at school and am always eager to expand my knowledge.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, an excellent appraisal of the book :)
Yvonne.
I think that I vaguely remember this when it was produced.
I think that it is a really good idea.
I am thinking how much things have changed since 1999! I think there are people today who would have trouble going back to living with that technology.
I think the before and after transformations would be lovely to see
Not for everyone, but I can see the appeal. Thanks for sharing!
Post a Comment