Keeping Hearth & Home in Old Massachusetts: A Practical Primer for Everyday Living [Hardcover]

Carol Padgett (Author)

Book Description

Series: Keeping Hearth and Home | Publication Date: October 1, 2001

Keeping Hearth & Home in Old Massachusetts is a "how-to" book, but not for you. Drawn from a wealth of authentic Victorian-era books and magazines, it is like the book your great- or great-great grandmother might have read at age 17 to prepare herself for the etiquette of courting, to learn how to conduct herself in public, and to learn what would be required of her during marriage. Later, she might have read the same book through all over again, for ideas about how to arrange the parlor and how to direct her children's playtime. So welcome to the family household in old Massachusetts. Come indoors, pull up a fireside rocker, and discover how the everyday rituals of a bustling nineteenth-century home can bring history to life more vividly than ever.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Keeping Hearth & Home in Old Massachusetts is a "how-to" book, but not for you. Drawn from a wealth of authentic Victorian-era books and magazines, it is like the book your great- or great-great grandmother might have read at age 17 to prepare herself for the etiquette of courting, to learn how to conduct herself in public, and to learn what would be required of her during marriage. Later, she might have read the same book through all over again, for ideas about how to arrange the parlor and how to direct her children's playtime. So welcome to the family household in old Massachusetts. Come indoors, pull up a fireside rocker, and discover how the everyday rituals of a bustling nineteenth-century home can bring history to life more vividly than ever. (5 1/4 x 7 1/4, 240 pages, illustrations, recipes)

About the Author

Carol Padgett's fascination with how folks live was seeded in childhood elder-lore, blossomed into a psychotherapy practice, and now bears fruit in her work with the dying.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Menasha Ridge Press; 1st edition (October 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0897324080
• ISBN-13: 978-0897324083
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 5.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,926,787 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Keeping Hearth and Home in Old Alabama, by Dr. Carol Padgett, April 13, 2003

By 

Dr. David Dyson (Vestavia Hills, Alabama United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Keeping Hearth & Home in Old Massachusetts: A Practical Primer for Everyday Living (Hardcover)

Carol,

This paragraph from your book got my attention because it affirms that discovering one's life purpose is important, even affecting courtship. One of my favorite stories about Stretch and Joan is about how Stretch read his mission and vision statement for life to Joan early in their relationship, which she says helped her start falling in love with him. The "requisites" listed in the statement cited below also serve as inspiration for one's personal vision in a plan for life,which can help anyone with inspiration and guidance.

"The essential requisites in a companion that are necessary to insure happiness and a life of devotion are to be found in strength of character, a healthy body, a judicious head, a loving heart, all brought into attune with a high and holy life purpose." [Page 31, Keeping Hearth and Home in Old Alabama, by Dr. Carol Padgett citing wisdom published in 1872].

Thanks for your book, which provided inspirational Sunday morning reading.

David Dyson
Dyson Institute