The Family in the Western World from the Black Death to the Industrial Age

by Beatrice Gottlieb

Book Overview

During the last few decades the study of the family has flourished, and in the process many myths about what life was like two or three centuries ago have been debunked. For example, contrary to popular belief, we now know that most women in the preindustrial West did not marry before they were twenty-five. Most households consisted of no more than four or five people, usually including unrelated young people working as servants. And perhaps most...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 019509056X
• ISBN13: 9780195090567
• Release Date: June 1994
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.1" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Families have always looked just like they do now! Right?

"The Family in the Western World" proves to be a fast read that does not insult one's intelligence. The author knows how to grab the reader's attention with relevant detail, crisp writing and punctuated revelations of fact. Anyone who would like to learn more about how the institution of "family" has evolved over the centuries needs to read this book. Our culture's current angst over what constitutes a family might be ameliorated if the proponents of the various suggested types of families spend some time with this book learning about historical similarities and differences which can be either found or reflected or discounted in our practices. Those who hold the proposition that a valid marriage is made so by a presiding religious person might, perhaps, be surprised to discover that in Europe, when it was much more religious than it is today, the presence of a religious person conducting a wedding unto marriage was not required except in certain places and in certain times, mostly in the premodern/modern times. The bookDoor Number 1 is worth whatever the cost, is suitable for personal interest or college level study.