"A Day at Home in Early Modern England: Material...." Topic

…. Culture and Domestic Life, 1500-1700.

"A Day at Home in Early Modern England does precisely as the title suggests – it takes its reader through the minutiae of a day in early modern England in painstaking detail using a combination of literary sources, historical documents (including court records, wills and inventories) and household objects. The monograph successfully establishes the social significance of the household as a site for constructing and shaping early modern experiences and identities, with a particular emphasis on the households of the upper-middling sort. The originality of this work lies in its chronological and social focus. Firstly, it expands the extensive existing scholarship on elite patterns of consumption and the materiality of the country house to include non-elite households. For the middling sorts, this monograph argues, the household and the objects within it were crucial in both the generation and consolidation of family wealth and social standing and the expression of a distinct identity. Secondly, it seeks to place the scholarship on the consumer revolution of the 18th century within a much broader historical context thus deflating somewhat the revolutionary nature of changes in patterns of consumption post-1750. Finally, in the detailed exploration of the uses and contents of domestic architecture, this book adds nuance to the scholarship around W. G. Hoskins' ‘great rebuilding' theory by exploring urban as well as rural properties, and the investment in interior remodelling as a form of significant building modification. It identifies strong ties between the rebuilding and renovating of properties and key events in the middling household's lifecycle – appointment to civic office, a marriage, or a death and the subsequent shift in ownership…."
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