Good Wives: Image and Reality in the Lives of Women in Northern New England, 1650-1750

Good Wives: Image and Reality in the Lives of Women in Northern New England, 1650-1750

By: Laurel Thatcher Ulrich  

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Average Customer Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Publisher: Vintage

Release Date: 1991-06-04

Customer Review: 5 out of 5
Intriguing insight into little-known details - I found this to be an excellent source for some curious, sometimes gritty details about the lives of women in pre-colonial America. It was exactly what I was looking for in researching my new project. It's well-organized, accessible, and more readable than many of the academic works I've read. Highly recommended.

Customer Review: 5 out of 5
Good Source - Good overall description of the books, and was delivered in a short amount of time.

Customer Review: 5 out of 5
Good Wives, Image and Reality in the LIves of Women in Northern New England - I've always been curious about the "history behind the history": while the Big Names were out and about, what was going on with the "common joes" I know darn well my ancestors would have been? I have 3 of Ulrich's books, Good Wives, A MidWife's Tale, and Homespun. I enjoy the way she paints a picture of the everyday chopping wood and baking bread part of life that sustained the Big Boys while they were out Making History. Her books are very readable, in large part because of the way she draws you in by getting you intrigued with the life of one or two specific people, and shows you their world through their experiences. Good Wives was quite an eye-opener for me. I'd had an image of colonial women as leading a life of drudgery, very much confined to house and kitchen. Instead, they were partners to their husbands, making business deals and commitments their spouses would be expected to carry through. I came away from this book thinking that as things got more settled in this country, women actually lost freedom and opportunity, not gained it.

Customer Review: 5 out of 5
Laurel Thatcher Ulrich's Splendid Books Rock - I am a passionate fan of A Midwife's Tale, and so expected to enjoy Good Wives. It is different, but nevertheless, an incredibly valuable resource. I read with amusement the one-star review from the student who'd been compelled to read this for a college course and thought..."Gosh, he COULDN'T have read this book! He must be confusing the title!" It is crammed with interesting, offbeat, entertaining, and poignant glimpses into colonial American life. Perhaps I enjoy Ulrich's books so much because I live in a northeastern hamlet next to a 350-year-old village and run into history on my way to the grocery store (or local farm) to pick up eggs. If I haven't convinced you to give this a try, let me just throw in that this is quite a sexy little book, for the Puritans and colonials, contrary to folklore, were very susceptible to Eros. It's also a book one can pick up, read a bit, then take up later with no difficulty. If you enjoy history, particularly the Princeton "common man" school and not just kings and queens...you'll have a wonderful time with Good Wives.

Customer Review: 5 out of 5
"Pots and pans" history - "Pots and pans" history. So that's what this stuff is called. If that is supposed to diminish it, allow me to suggest that nothing could be further from the truth.

Nothing is more controversial in our society today than "woman's place," and no where is it more controversial than among women. (Any email list will bear this out.)

But what was it like for the women who were the founders of this country? How often do we even think about how they lived, unless we happen to visit one of the burgeoning historical communities multiplying across the country?

It was work, and it was hard work. Women were at home, and they were at home for a reason. Even getting to church was a major endeavor, and one they fought for, for it was women who built many of the major American congregations thriving today.

Their relationships with each other sustained them, and also were likely to pose the most threat, for women could make or break the reputations of one another, upon which survival depended.

Childbirth, pre, post and in between, determined the rhythm of life for generations of women. There were many births, and many of them did not live to adulthood. A woman who was able to nurture many children to see her grandchildren and great-grandchildren had accomplished a great deal, and was honored accordingly.

They had to know and understand the rhythms of nature and the timing of how to use an oven they could stand in and work with its heat as it coursed over the length of a day. There were no timers. There were no temperature regulators. There certainly were no microwave ovens or dish washers or washing machines.

They made medical tinctures as well as food, for doctors were few and far between and if they couldn't nurse their loved ones to health, they lost them more often than not.

They acted as "Deputy Husbands," representing their husbands in their livelihood, not in their own right, but as stand-ins based on the status of their husbands. It was power, even if not their own.

Well researched, thoroughly documented, well written and a very pleasant read, this book will allow us all to count our blessings -- and honor our foremothers.

...geminiwalker

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