Jane Ellen Panton (1847–1923) was the second daughter of the artist William Powell Frith, and a journalist and author on domestic issues. First published in 1887, this is the revised 1893 edition of her guide for young married couples on how to set up their first home. In it she draws on twenty-three years' experience of living in London to advise on everything from choosing a house and internal decoration to budgeting effectively and entertaining friends. Updated extensively, the book contains a thorough index, a selection of illustrations, and new information on many of the topics discussed. The author devotes each chapter to a different part of the house, and concludes by advising her readers to let 'love, beauty, carefulness and economy' rule their lives. Providing revealing insight into domestic middle-class life in late nineteenth-century England, this book remains of interest to historians and sociologists.
Contents
Preface; 1. Choosing a house; 2. The kitchen arrangements; 3. Meals and money; 4. The housemaid's closet, and glass and china; 5. First shopping; 6. The hall; 7. The dining-room; 8. The morning-room; 9. The drawing-room; 10. Curtains, carpets, and lighting; 11. Bedrooms; 12. Dressing-rooms; 13. Spare rooms; 14. The servants' rooms; 15. The nurseries; 16. In retirement; 17. The schoolroom; 18. Boys and girls; 19. Entertaining one's friends; 20. The summing-up; Index.
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