Perfect Wives in Ideal Homes: The Story of Women in the 1950s by Virginia Nichol

Description: Perfect Wives in Ideal Homes by Virginia Nicholson Tells the story of women in the 1950s: a time before the Pill, when divorce spelled scandal and two-piece swimsuits caused mass alarm. This book reconstructs the real 1950s, through the eyes of those who lived it. It takes you back in time to when our grandmothers scrubbed their doorsteps, cared for their families, laughed, loved and struggled. FORMAT Paperback LANGUAGE English CONDITION Brand New Publisher Description The 1950s - a time before the Pill, when divorce spelled scandal and two-piece swimsuits caused mass alarmTurn the page back to the mid-twentieth century, and discover a world peopled by women with radiant smiles, clean pinafores and gleaming coiffures; a promised land of batch-baking, maraschino cherries and brightly hued plastic. A world where the darker side of the decade encompasses rampant prostitution, a notorious murder, and the threat of nuclear disaster.In Perfect Wives in Ideal Homes Virginia Nicholson reconstructs the real 1950s, through the eyes of the women who lived it. Step back in time to where our grandmothers scrubbed their doorsteps, cared for their families, lived, laughed, loved and struggled.This is their story. Notes Virginia Nicholson reconstructs the real 1950s behind the radiant smiles, clean pinafores and gleaming coiffures, through the eyes of the women who lived it. Nicholson is the bestselling author of Singled Out and Millions Like Us. Now in paperback. Back Cover Fascinating, detailed, scholarly yet immensely readable. Nicholson has the gift of bringing her women to life like the characters in a novel Sunday Express Tremendously moving Observer In the 1950s women were told how to lure their man to the altar. Once married, they were told they could have it all - washing machines, fridges and TVs. But the deal was: stay in the home, cook and bring up the children. Virginia Nicholsons Perfect Wives in Ideal Homes is a story of submission and struggle, rebellion and reward. It is the story of our mothers and grandmothers lives. Richly detailed. We hear from women working as air hostesses, housewives, biscuit packers, prostitutes, academics, models, secretaries and Butlins Redcoats. We discover how women felt entering beauty contests, having to give up work on marriage, being defined by their husbands jobs, becoming unmarried mothers, enduring racism, marching against nuclear weapons, desiring other women. Nicholsons own commentary, compassionate and wry, holds everything together Independent Important, profound and humane The Times Nicholson brings history to vivid and touching life. She has a feel for the mood and detail of the period: the mended nylons, bracing holidays at Butlins, the small but sustaining thrills of ordinary people Mail on Sunday Entertaining and shocking, Nicholson succeeds brilliantly. I was completely gripped Daily Telegraph [backlist thumbnails] Author Biography Virginia Nicholson was born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, grew up in Yorkshire and Sussex, and studied at Cambridge University. She lived abroad in France and Italy, then worked as a documentary researcher for the BBC. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, her books include the acclaimed social histories Among the Bohemians, Singled Out, Millions Like Us, and Perfect Wives in Ideal Homes. She is married with three grown-up children and lives in Sussex. Review Virginia Nicholson gets us closer than we have ever been before to the complicated day-to-day reality of womens lives during that still controversial decade, the 1950s -- David KynastonNicholson handles her material with confidence, sympathy and, ultimately, optimism that for most women things have improved, so that the abiding emotion is not gloom but, in my case, admiration for my mothers generation and gratitude that it was so much better for ours -- Anne Sebba * Daily Telegraph *Nicholson uses vivid contemporary sources and oral testimony to show the constraints under which so many women lived. Like David Kynastons Family Britain . . . Nicholson has the same knack of seamlessly piecing gripping individual stories into a panorama of ordinary life -- Bee Wilson * Sunday Times *An important and humane book of female social history . . . In this work, Nicholson musters voices to profound and deeply political effect. Much of the material in this book will be familiar to women over 55: we were born into this world. For younger women, though, Nicholsons book should be necessary reading, to remind them how far we have travelled. -- Melanie Reid * The Times *An uplifting and heartwarming read * Stella *Nicholson spells out the contradictions of this era so well: a new world dressed in old clothes -- David Barnett * Independent on Sunday *Remarkable. To todays young, itll sound like life on another planet * Daily Mail *The achievements of the women in this book haunt us and move us to admiration -- Tessa Hadley * Guardian *Insightful social history. Mixing research with a wealth of anecdote, Nicholson brings history to vivid and touching life -- Jenny McCartney * Mail on Sunday *Poignantly illustrates how the women of the 1950s yearned for the innovative technology of the era to liberate them from repetitive drudgery -- Victoria Coren Mitchell * Observer *Indefatigably researched, moving and perceptive, Nicholson handles her wide-ranging material with sympathy, humour and a lightness of touch. Her enviable gift for interpretation and storytelling is balanced by first-hand accounts of those women of the 1950s, their youth so relatively recent, who have trusted her with the intimate details of their lives -- Juliet Nicolson * Spectator *There is certainly warmth in [Virginia Nicholsons] curiosity as she delves into the stories of her mothers generation . . . Nicholsons judgements are rightly and often amusingly sharp . . . Her skill as an interviewer leaves her subjects revealing long-kept secrets and her flair as a writer makes us care about these young women and what happens to them -- Lara Feigel * Observer *Richly detailed. We hear from women working as air hostesses, housewives, biscuit packers, prostitutes, academics, models, secretaries and Buttlins Redcoats. We discover how women felt entering beatuty contests, having to give up work on marriage, being defined by their husbands jobs, becomming unmarried mothers, enduring racism, marching against nuclear weapons and desiring other women. Nicholsons own commentary, in turns compassionate and wry, holds everything together -- Michèle Roberts * Independent *A fascinating look at the lives of ordinary women in 1950s Britain * Sunday Times *Meticulously researched -- Femke Colborne * Big Issue in the North *A ground-breaking book, richly nuanced with titbits of information, insight and understanding * Daily Mail (on Singled Out) *Remarkably perceptive and well-researched . . . Virginia Nicholson has produced another extraordinarily interesting work, sensitive, intelligent and well-written * Sunday Telegraph (on Singled Out) *An inspiring book, lovingly researched, well-written and humane . . . the period is beautifully caught * Economist (on Singled Out) *The popular image is of a world where women wore little frilled pinafores with immaculately coiffed hair and happy smiles as they dusted, swept and baked . . . But Nicholsons book reveals a much darker side of life * Telegraph, Best Non-Fiction Books of 2015 *Gripping, constantly surprising: a page-turner. We hear at first hand the life stories of women from different walks of life, from factory workers to debs. Each story draws you right in and its always a wrench to move on -- Country Life Promotional InPerfect Wives in Ideal HomesVirginia Nicholson reconstructs the real 1950s, through the eyes of the women who lived it. We meet factory girls and Teddy girls, students and housewives, diplomats and immigrants. Review Text Virginia Nicholson gets us closer than we have ever been before to the complicated day-to-day reality of womens lives during that still controversial decade, the 1950s Review Quote Virginia Nicholson gets us closer than we have ever been before to the complicated day-to-day reality of womens lives during that still controversial decade, the 1950s Promotional "Headline" The 1950s - a time before the Pill, when divorce spelled scandal and two-piece swimsuits caused mass alarm Details ISBN0241958040 Author Virginia Nicholson Publisher Penguin Books Ltd Year 2016 ISBN-10 0241958040 ISBN-13 9780241958049 Format Paperback Publication Date 2016-03-03 Media Book Imprint Penguin Books Ltd Subtitle The Story of Women in the 1950s Place of Publication London Country of Publication United Kingdom DEWEY 941.0855082 Pages 560 Short Title Perfect Wives in Ideal Homes Language English UK Release Date 2016-03-03 Narrator Tom Judd Translator Brian Boyd Birth 19610722 Affiliation Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Bipolar Clinic and Reseach Program, Massachusetts General Hospital Position Associate Professor of Psychiatry Qualifications Ph.D. Alternative 9780241958056 Audience General NZ Release Date 2016-04-30 AU Release Date 2016-04-30 We've got this At The Nile, if you're looking for it, we've got it. 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