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raulkohl 's review for:
Unmentionable: The Victorian Lady's Guide to Sex, Marriage, and Manners
by Therese Oneill
I really wanted to like this book. I loved the idea of a guide to time traveler. Additionally, my wife is a huge fan of the developments in fashion, women's health, and equality. I wanted to come away with interesting tidbits to share with her. To a certain extent this book achieved that goal. The problem was everything I found interesting came from the first couple of chapters. After that the style and focus completely changed.
In the first few chapters we learn about getting dressed. We learn why underwear was crotchless, what made certain shoes practical, and how to clean every part of a woman's attire. It truly felt like a guide to a woman who was dropped into Victorian society. After those chapters the book completely changes. It becomes more like a dissertation explaining what life was like supported with quotes from primary sources. Gone is the feeling that a woman can use this book as a travel guide for survival.
Perhaps if the author had a more narrow focus more attention could be put on guiding how to pass as a Victorian woman. Expand the chapters on fashion. Talk more about all the steps of cleaning, how to cook typical meals, and how to speak the lingo. Explain how to raise and educate children. Make me feel like I can take this book to Victorian times just like I can take a Rick Steves' travel book to France and not look like an idiot.
In the first few chapters we learn about getting dressed. We learn why underwear was crotchless, what made certain shoes practical, and how to clean every part of a woman's attire. It truly felt like a guide to a woman who was dropped into Victorian society. After those chapters the book completely changes. It becomes more like a dissertation explaining what life was like supported with quotes from primary sources. Gone is the feeling that a woman can use this book as a travel guide for survival.
Perhaps if the author had a more narrow focus more attention could be put on guiding how to pass as a Victorian woman. Expand the chapters on fashion. Talk more about all the steps of cleaning, how to cook typical meals, and how to speak the lingo. Explain how to raise and educate children. Make me feel like I can take this book to Victorian times just like I can take a Rick Steves' travel book to France and not look like an idiot.