andipants 's review for:

Unmentionable: The Victorian Lady's Guide to Sex, Marriage, and Manners by Therese Oneill

4.0

---

This was an interesting and irreverent romp through the 19th century domestic sphere. I've already read Ruth Goodman's How to Be a Victorian: A Dawn-to-Dusk Guide to Victorian Life, so the factual content here is pretty much a wholesale retread (and if you're looking for an in-depth treatment, How to Be a Victorian is absolutely the better way to go), but this is a very fast read, and the author's humor kept it very engaging. I did find it a bit weird that the one time in the book where she gets actually not-joking angry is in discussing John Kellogg's prescribed treatment for hysteria; yes, it was barbaric (he's basically recommending female circumcision as a good option, among other things), but the author maintained a tone of dry irony in touching on the horrors of marital rape and slavery, so this seems an odd line in the sand to draw. Nevertheless, it was an entertaining read, and if you're interested in the topic but looking for a lighter treatment than Goodman's, then definitely give this one a look.