Victorian countrywomen /

Horn's readable and informative account of Victorian rural women a hitherto ignored topic supplements her study, The Changing Countryside in Victorian and Edwardian England and Wales (CH, Jun'86). On the surface, Victorian villages were masculine, and this is how historians have viewed them. Horn (Oxford Polytechnic University) gently but persuasively corrects this imbalance by analyzing the role and daily lives of women in rural society, including females of various classes and occupations, and their changing status throughout the century. Despite increasing economic and social pressures to confine rural women to their homes, the professionalization of women as midwifes, nurses, and teachers in the late 19th century enhanced their independence and prominence in rural society. Through an adept blending of sources, Horn presents a revisionist and unforgettable account of the lives of rural females. The book is well researched, well organized, and well written, and includes significant statistical appendixes. Detailed bibliography; average index. College, university, and public libraries.-W. J. Hoffman Jr., Hiram College