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A review by paperbacksandpines
Unmentionable: The Victorian Lady's Guide to Sex, Marriage, and Manners by Therese Oneill
3.0
Based on a review written by one of Olive from A Book Olive, I wanted to check this book out.
The author takes readers on a ride back to the Victorian days and keeps reminding us not to impose our 21st century expectations on what life was like for women back in the past.
Oneill offers a window into the fascinating, perilous, gross and of course misogynistic practices imposed on, or expected of, women in the 19th century.
One of my favorite parts about the book are the photographs, illustrations, and advertisements from the time. I especially enjoyed the author's snarky captions.
The author tackles a variety of topics all related to women, from social norms and practices, expectations for bodily cleanliness, courting practices, 19th century bathrooms which range from dangerous cosmetics, to undergarments, to the lack of indoor plumbing, and how to walk down the street.
The most interesting part of the book for me was about how (male) doctors viewed women, their bodies and the catchall category they labeled female hysteria. I think it's a sad commentary on society that, similar to the Victoria era, even today women's concerns about their bodies are still not taken always seriously by doctors.
Overall, I wasn't overly impressed by the information presented in this book, nor by all of the commentary, which felt like the author was trying to hard to make the reader laugh. But if you don't know much about this time period, I wouldn't not recommend this book.
The author takes readers on a ride back to the Victorian days and keeps reminding us not to impose our 21st century expectations on what life was like for women back in the past.
Oneill offers a window into the fascinating, perilous, gross and of course misogynistic practices imposed on, or expected of, women in the 19th century.
One of my favorite parts about the book are the photographs, illustrations, and advertisements from the time. I especially enjoyed the author's snarky captions.
The author tackles a variety of topics all related to women, from social norms and practices, expectations for bodily cleanliness, courting practices, 19th century bathrooms which range from dangerous cosmetics, to undergarments, to the lack of indoor plumbing, and how to walk down the street.
The most interesting part of the book for me was about how (male) doctors viewed women, their bodies and the catchall category they labeled female hysteria. I think it's a sad commentary on society that, similar to the Victoria era, even today women's concerns about their bodies are still not taken always seriously by doctors.
Overall, I wasn't overly impressed by the information presented in this book, nor by all of the commentary, which felt like the author was trying to hard to make the reader laugh. But if you don't know much about this time period, I wouldn't not recommend this book.