Synopses & Reviews
The often-stereotyped belles and matrons of the nineteenth-century South emerge as diverse personalities in this compelling account of three generations of women from a South Carolina family whose fate rose and fell with the fortunes of the state. Through vivid, interwoven life stories, the book offers a unique perspective on how these women conducted their lives, shared personal triumphs and defeats, endured the deprivations and despair of civil war, and experienced a social revolution.
A Family of Women focuses on the female descendants of Louise Gibert Pettigrew (later changed to Petigru), who rose from upcountry obscurity to privileged prominence in Charleston and on low country plantations, where they variously flourished as belles, managed large households, shocked society with their unconventionality, educated their children, endured troubled marriages, and maintained close family ties. Using the letters, diaries, novels, and memoirs of the Petigru women and the material culture surrounding them, the authors weave a complex story of women well worth knowing.
Review
Jane H. and William H. Pease have done a remarkable job of constructing a lucid and engaging narrative.
American Historical Review
Review
The story the Peases relate is a fascinating one, and a very useful epilogue pulls together many of its threads.
Journal of the Early Republic
Review
The Peases provide a compelling portrait of the lives of white southern women in one extended family over several generations.
American Studies
Review
Scholars and general readers will find
A Family of Women a valuable contribution to the chronicle of the Southern past.
Civil War History
Review
A significant contribution to our understanding of elite Southern women and of the diversity and adversity that characterized their lives.
Times Literary Supplement
Synopsis
The true diversity among elite women in the 19th-century South is revealed in this account of three generations of women from a South Carolina family whose fate rose and fell with the fortunes of the state.
Synopsis
Jane H. and William H. Pease have done a remarkable job of constructing a lucid and engaging narrative.
American Historical Review The story the Peases relate is a fascinating one, and a very useful epilogue pulls together many of its threads.
Journal of the Early Republic The Peases provide a compelling portrait of the lives of white southern women in one extended family over several generations.
American Studies Scholars and general readers will find A Family of Women a valuable contribution to the chronicle of the Southern past.
Civil War History A significant contribution to our understanding of elite Southern women and of the diversity and adversity that characterized their lives.
Times Literary Supplement
About the Author
Jane H. Pease is professors emeritus of history at the University of Maine and associate in history at the College of Charleston. She has collaborated with William H. Pease on many books. Their three most recent explore various aspects of Southern history. William H. Pease is professors emeritus of history at the University of Maine and associate in history at the College of Charleston. He has collaborated with Jane H. Pease on many books. Their three most recent explore various aspects of Southern history.
Table of Contents
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments
Editorial Note
Prologue
Part I The Rise of the Petigrus
1 Establishing the Petigru Connection
2 Begetting Offspring
3 Managing Complex Households
4 Educating the Young
5 Marrying for Money
6 Reigning as Belles
7 Surviving Miserable Marriages
8 Governing at Home
9 Marrying for Love
10 Reflecting Power and Wealth
11 Dealing with Public Issues
Part II The War Years
12 The War Comes
13 The Early War Years on the Home Front
14 The Repercussions from the Battlefield
15 The Roof Tree Falls
16 Life Goes On
17 The War Drags to a Close
Part III The Long Years After
18 The Despair of Defeat
19 The Return to the Plantation
20 The Return to the City
21 The Luck of the Allstons
22 The Pain and Joy of Autonomy
Epilogue
Appendix: Genealogical Charts
Notes
Bibliographical Essay
Index
Illustrations
James Louis Petigru
Harriette Petigru
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