'Everything whispers of wealth and luxury': observation, emulation and display in the well-to-do late-Victorian home

Keeble, Trevor (2007) 'Everything whispers of wealth and luxury': observation, emulation and display in the well-to-do late-Victorian home. In: Darling, Elizabeth and Whitworth, Lesley, (eds.) Women and the making of built space in England, 1870-1950. Aldershot, U.K. : Ashgate Publishing Limited. pp. 69-86. ISBN 9780754651857

Abstract

This chapter uses nineteenth century manuscript diaries and letters to explore the manner in which Victorian homemakers observed and commented upon other peoples homes. The essay considers the tension between understandings of the Victorian home as a private space and the commonly held interpretations of Victorian consumption in terms of emulation and display. The chapter argues that social interaction through visiting other people’s homes was central to the ways that ideals about taste, style and judgment informed middle-class Victorian home-making.

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