The Writer's Guide to Everyday Life in the 1800s (Writer's Guides to Everyday Life) [Hardcover]

Marc McCutcheon (Author)

Book Description

Series: Writer's Guides to Everyday Life | Publication Date: March 15, 1993

The wonderful and fascinating details of the 1800s have been gathered into one interesting volume, in which McCutcheon has included quotes from 19th-century citizens concerning or describing hairstyles and fashion, favorite swear words and slang, jokes of the period, courtship and marriage rituals, and more. A must for both fiction and nonfiction historical writers.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Few reference books include as many fascinating, informative facts as this one does! Packed with details of nineteenth-century life, Marc McCutcheon leaves no stone unturned. This dictionary-style reference guide includes details of every facet of life-- fashion and clothing, courtship and marriage rituals, slang terms, popular foods, common occupations, health and medicine, and much more. Of particular interest are the sections on the Civil War and life on the range. There is also a special section on types of crime, crime terms and criminal statistics. Mr. McCutcheon even includes helpful chronologies of noted books, magazines, innovations, popular songs and special events. Never again will you worry about what song your heroine should be singing in 1869! (Little Brown Jug is a good choice.) Each chapter includes numerous quotes from magazines and novels of the era, illustrating proper word usage. Although the novice writer will find this book particularly helpful, seasoned professionals will also find numerous bits of trivia that may be new to Them. The Writer's Guide to Everyday Life in the 1800's will appeal to all writers who want to add authenticity to their writing. Though it is not intended to replace other historical references, it will be a welcome addition to any writer's research library. If you have ever been frustrated and unable to find an obscure fact, this is the place to look! Fascinating and comprehensive! A must-have for every historical romance writer! Marc McCutcheon does a phenomenal job of collecting historical information and compiling it into one easy-to-read volume! The Writer's Guide to Everyday Life in the 1800's will save you many trips to the library!Kristina Wright -- Copyright © 1994-97 Literary Times, Inc. All rights reserved -- From Literary Times

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Writers Digest Books; First Edition edition (March 15, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0898795419
• ISBN-13: 978-0898795417
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #319,794 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A Dictionary - Just a Dictionary, June 21, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Writer's Guide to Everyday Life in the 1800s (Writer's Guides to Everyday Life) (Hardcover)

If you are expecting more than a dictionary- Don't buy this book. If you are a reenactor, this book is not for you. The book is filled with names of items and dictionary type descriptions. There is very little written text beyond that. The book seems to be geared more toward the beginning and end of the 1800's with little regarding the 1850's - 1870.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A once-over-lightly, but surprisingly useful, January 3, 2003

By 

Chrijeff (Scranton, PA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Writer's Guide to Everyday Life in the 1800s (Writer's Guides to Everyday Life) (Hardcover)

I've been researching the 19th Century (with specific attention to the Old West, but a lot of Eastern culture got transplanted there, so inevitably I've had to learn about that too) for 35 years now, and I still find that a book can occasionally give me some information I didn't have. This is one such volume. Though not by any means an in-depth treatment of the period--no one book could ever cover all the fascinating details of everyday life and society in a hundred crowded years--it did provide me with an assortment of vernacular terms I'd never seen before, a sidebar on stagecoach etiquette, another on the treatment of various common contagions, some information on how safecrackers cracked safes, a good chronology of popular magazines, and various other tidbits to add to my ever-expanding files of information.

Author McCutcheon does occasionally neglect to give facts that would soften some of the gloomy picture he paints. He states that "The nineteenth-century home was a woman's...confines...[and her] work was never done...," but fails to add that household help was cheap and abundant, and even "mechanics" (what we would call skilled workers) earning less than a dollar a day could afford at least a maid-of-all-work; also that the housewife was generally assisted by a resident aunt, mother or mother-in-law, unmarried sister, older daughter, or some combination, as well as neighbors. He doesn't point out that women's rights were a focus of much attention through much of the century and their status did improve, especially after about 1845. Nor does he give any space to the many eccentrics and rebels, from Dr. Mary Walker to Calamity Jane, who defied convention and got away with it. The reader will need to consult other books to obtain a more balanced, to say nothing of a more detailed, picture of the era, and although the many references used in the text are enumerated, there is no bibliography of suggested readings in this volume as there have been in others in the series (I strongly advise looking in the bibliographical essays of assorted American histories to find some titles worth seeking out, as well as checking out the "Recommendations" and "Readers Who Bought This Book..." listings on this page). Still, you will definitely learn things from McCutcheon that you won't readily find elsewhere, and the book is certainly worth your read.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read for writers and historians of all types!!!, November 6, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The Writer's Guide to Everyday Life in the 1800s (Writer's Guides to Everyday Life) (Hardcover)

An amazing book! This book offers everything you ever needed or wanted to know about the 19th century. It has everything from slang speech to crime on the streets! Find a comfortable seat, sit back and enjoy your time travel ride back to the 1800's.