The “tradwife” trend, coming hot on the (comfortable) heels of “cottagecore”, and sitting in opposition to “Boss Girl” principles, is all but impossible to miss on social media. Think soft-focus images of female influencers tending flowers and vegetables in their pretty gardens, baking bread from scratch in picture-perfect kitchens, and crafting with their unfeasibly well-behaved kids.

On one level, aspects of the tradwife phenomenon taps into a longing many of us might relate to: a desire to slow down and step away from hustle culture to live a calmer life. At the same time, digging deeper into some tenets of tradwifery reveals a very different story. For example, researchers at the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership at King’s Business School suggest that, “The tradwife trend isn't nostalgia — it's a warning sign. Rather than evidence of a return to old-fashioned family values, the tradwife trend shows how younger women are struggling to reconcile impossible demands”. Moreover, “If not properly responded to, we risk pushing an entire generation of women toward authoritarian visions of family that promise escape from impossible choices, which in reality, restricts women’s hard-earned autonomy”. Wife school, anyone?

Correspondingly, these two elements (in simple terms, cottagecore utopia versus domestic dystopia) are being showcased and explored in stacks of new books, from aspirational, and inspirational, non-fiction that celebrates the art of living slower and cosier in serenely-styled surroundings, to dark dystopian fiction and edge-of-your-seat thrillers.

In the case of the former, Vivienne Bolton’s beautifully-designed Homemaking & Housekeeping: Forgotten Wisdom for Modern Times celebrates the kind of traditional cooking and housekeeping techniques our grandmothers might have used, while making them applicable to modern readers. Structured by season, it shares practical tips on how to connect with nature through traditional domestic pursuits, including making flower posies in spring, and marmalade in winter. 

Living seasonally is also at the core of Madeleine Olivia’s A Year in a Cottage Kitchen, in which the content-creator author shares eighty seasonal plant-based recipes from her cosy Cornish cottage. Cosiness is also central to Homes for Living, which sees its authors present room-by-room tips for transforming homes into retreat-like spaces. On a related theme, but more design focussed, is Michelle Halford’s The Quiet Room, which extolls the virtues of “house hushing” i.e. toning down clutter and visual noise. If home hushing appeals, check out Leanne Ford’s The Slow Down.

Those who are looking to live more wholesomely through food should take a look at Francesca Huntingdon’s beautiful books about making soup, pickling and preserving, and baking sweet and spicy autumn treats. Meanwhile, Colu Henry’s Better at Home is excellent on the art of creating soul-satisfying meals that elevate home dining to something very special: think rich stews and creamy pasta dishes. 

Moving now to recent tradwife fiction, we find a mood that’s typically more akin to potent classics like The Handmaid’s Tale, The Bell Jar, or The Awakening than domestic bliss. But first, a brilliant book that kind-of bridges the gap between the two camps: Bonnie Garmus’ Lessons in Chemistry, in which a brilliant female chemist fights 1960s sexism through transforming herself into a successful TV cook: “Cooking is a serious science. In fact, it’s chemistry”, she asserts. Meet the Newmans is also absolutely fabulous on duplicitous domestic life in the 1960s.

On the darker side, set in a puritanical society in which women are silenced through being limited to speak just 100 words a day, Christina Dalcher’s Vox is a personal favourite. Then there are a number of novels that bear “trad wife” in their titles. For example, Saratoga Schaefer’s Trad Wife has something of a Rosemary’s Baby vibe, and Sarah Langan’s Trad Wife is a creepy homestead horror.

Also set on a homestead, Carrie Hughes’ The Trad Wife, a fast, furious, and often darkly funny thriller, explores Mormon fundamentalism through an influencer who lures a female journalist to her family farm. Influencers are also at the fore of Jo Piazza’s Everyone is Lying to You, and Caro Claire Burke’s Yesteryear debut, which brings us full circle to where we began: the pervasiveness of tradwife content (and critique) on social media. So, on that note, we’ll leave you to peruse our collection of books covering both sides of tradwife life: cottagecore utopia and domestic dystopia.