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    Things a Woman Wants to Know: An Edwardian Housewife’s Guide to Life
    Things a Woman Wants to Know: An Edwardian Housewife’s Guide to Life
    Things a Woman Wants to Know: An Edwardian Housewife’s Guide to Life
    Ebook173 pages1 hour

    Things a Woman Wants to Know: An Edwardian Housewife’s Guide to Life

    By Isobel of “Home Notes”

    3.5/5

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    About this ebook

    This book of handy hints for the new housewife was first published in the Edwardian era, and includes recipes, medical advice, fashion tips and the dangers that can lurk in the home (e.g. the unhealthiness of carpets and the poisonous colours of wallpaper). In this new edition, the most unusual entertaining pieces of advice have been collected together along with the charming contemporary advertisement and a fascinating section about folding serviettes.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBloomsbury Publishing
    Release dateOct 20, 2013
    ISBN9781783660070
    Things a Woman Wants to Know: An Edwardian Housewife’s Guide to Life

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    • 3/5
      This book is a manual, and not a history of the life of Edwardian housewives. Nonetheless, it provides a glimpse into the times. The standards for keeping a good home were amazingly high, with tips on everything from how to wash ribbons and clean straw hats to perfuming notepaper. Most cleaning products were home-made and contained chemicals purchased from the chemist. Cocaine and raw eggs were frequent remedies for a range of ailments. An interesting, quick read.
    • 5/5
      A fascinating insight not only into Edwardian middle-class housekeeping, but also into the lives of the Edwardian middle-class women who were in charge of it: the duties expected of them, the challenges they faced in running a home, the standards of beauty placed upon them, and the extent to which domestic concerns must have dominated their thoughts. A useful and entertaining document of social history, with plenty of vintage recipes, remedies and 'home-hacks'.

    Book preview

    Things a Woman Wants to Know - Isobel of “Home Notes”

    Housekeeping

    CHAPTER ONE

    Keeping up Appearances

    THE TOILETTE

    THE woman who pretends to be indifferent to her toilette is wanting in good sense. It is not enough to be a good wife and mother in order to retain the affections of your husband, the father of your children: you must also be an attractive and pleasant woman. However ideally pretty or ideally graceful you may be, you cannot escape some fatal absurdities at certain moments of your toilette. For instance: a woman in the act of curling her hair will not appear to advantage, and may even look ridiculous. Let us wrap the facts of life in some little mystery. It is unnecessary to remind those who hold us dear that though we are goddesses at some times, we are but ordinary women at others.

    In the Bathroom, beside the actual baths, there should be a couch or ottoman, whereon to repose after the bath; a little table and a chair, in case one would wish to have a cup of tea. It is unnecessary to place a dressing-table in the bathroom: one returns to one’s dressing-room to complete the toilette.

    It would be Distinctly Dangerous to take a bath immediately after having eaten. Even minor ablutions are apt to trouble the digestion and one should allow three hours to elapse between any meal and a bath.

    On Sea-Bathing. It is best to go rapidly into the water, so that the whole body may be immersed in as short a time as possible, care being taken, however, to cover up the hair carefully, as there is nothing so disastrous in effect to a woman’s hair as sea-water.

    Perfume Reveals Character. Scents may be used in moderation, but both health and good taste forbid their being over-done. They are also supposed to have a certain effect on the mind. Musk produces sensitiveness; geranium tenderness; benzoin dreaminess; dark-blue violets predispose to piety; white ones facilitate digestion.

    Raspberry lips. Many women bite their lips on entering a room, to make them red. But, besides the fact that the colour thus obtained only lasts a few seconds, the habit of biting the lips makes them sore and inclined to chap.

    Extravagant Laughter on all occasions, for everything and nothing, must not be indulged in by those who wish to keep their lips pretty. Excessive laughter and contortions of the face will disfigure the mouth and bring on premature old age.

    Redness of the Nose often proceeds from a kind of congestion. In this case it should be washed with warm water only, on going to bed at night. Such persons must also abstain from ham, or pork under any form.

    Diminishing the Size of the Nose. The science of rhinoplasty has made such progress that it is possible now to modify, even to change, the shape of the nose. I may, however, suggest to persons afflicted with a large nose the means of diminishing its size. To do this, it will be sufficient to wear a pince-nez, without glasses in it, at night, and in the day-time whenever you are alone.

    For Tired Feet after Dancing. Soak your feet in salt and water, and you will feel none of the troubles attendant on tired feet the day after the ball.

    Cucumbers are invaluable as an adjunct to the toilet. They should be eaten plentifully by those who have highly coloured complexions. Cucumber-juice well rubbed into the skin of the face will keep it clear, fresh, and soft.

    A Slice of Lemon passed over the face instead of washing it will cleanse the skin and make it firm and white. It should be used daily. If the skin is too delicate to stand it without feeling sore, lemon-juice may be mixed with equal parts of cream for a lotion.

    To free the Hands from Disagreeable Odours. Ground mustard, mixed with a little water, is an excellent agent for cleansing the hands after handling disagreeable or strongly odorous substances, such as cod liver oil, musk, valerianic acid and its salts. Scale-pans and vessels may also be readily freed from odour by the same method.

    To Whiten and Soften the Skin a mixture of equal parts of lemon-juice and cream is very useful, and several society beauties never use any other cosmetic. Lemon Cream for whitening the skin, may be made as follows: Melt together two teaspoonfuls of spermaceti and one ounce of oil of almonds. As it cools, stir in sixteen drops of essence of lemon.

    Dandelion for the Complexion. The young leaves should be eaten as a salad, or the root of the dandelion may be bruised and the juice squeezed out and mixed in the proportion of two-thirds juice to one-third of rectified spirits of wine. It should then stand for a week and afterwards be filtered through blotting-paper and a flannel bag. A teaspoonful is to be taken occasionally two or three times a day.

    Stains on the Hands may be removed by rubbing them with a little salt moistened with a little lemon-juice, and then washing with clean water and soap.

    To Make the Hands Plump. Rub them with sweet oil night and morning. Exercise them by rubbing gently together whenever you have an opportunity. Never wear tight sleeves or a too-well-fitting glove, and always keep the arms and hands as warm as possible.

    If your Hands are Rather Fat, do not wear tight sleeves.

    How to Avoid Growing Stout. Exercise is one of the most esteemed means of bringing the body to reasonable proportions – fatigue should not be feared. Rouse yourselves, ye unfortunate fat ones, for indeed I pity you! Labour till you bring the sweat to your brow.

    Excessive Thinness is sometimes joined to an unpleasant temper. You should lead a quiet life, with as few emotions as possible; amuse yourself in your own home. Take tepid baths, and keep cheerful.

    Bathing the Eyes several times a day in cold water makes them bright, and preserves the sight to very old age.

    A RECIPE FOR CLEANING DELICATE TEETH.

    Mix these and add:

    Mix and heat them well together, and strain. This powder is very good for delicate teeth and spongy gums.

    Good Tooth-Powder. Precipitated chalk one ounce, carbonate of soda half an ounce, and the same quantity of powdered orris-root. Pound all together and pass through sieve; then put into pots for use.

    Hard Water. When unable to procure soft water for toilet purposes, keep a muslin bag with fine oatmeal in it, and squeeze out in water before washing. Put fresh oatmeal every day.

    A Soothing Powder which will remain on the skin is the following:

    Preparing a Bath. This is a useful hint, and by its careful practice the enamel of a bath will be preserved in good condition three times as long as usual. In pouring in water for a hot bath always put about half as much cold water as you think will be required, then pour in the hot.

    Towels used for the face should be very fine. Rough ones should never be employed, as they are apt to break the tiny blood-vessels in the skin.

    ERADICATING IMPERFECTIONS

    To Prevent Lines Forming on the Face. After bathing with warm water and drying the face, rub it all over with the ball of the thumb. This stimulates the

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