Uncovers the origins of midlife anxiety in Victorian print culture.
Aging by the Book offers an innovative look at the ways in which middle age, which for centuries had been considered the prime of life, was transformed during the Victorian era into a period of decline. Single women were nearing middle age at thirty, and mothers in their forties were expected to become sexless; meanwhile, fortyish men anguished over whether their "time for love had gone by." Looking at well-known novels of the period, as well as advertisements, cartoons, and medical and advice manuals, Kay Heath uncovers how this ideology of decline permeated a changing culture. Aging by the Book unmasks and confronts midlife anxiety by examining its origins, demonstrating that our current negative attitude toward midlife springs from Victorian roots, and arguing that only when we understand the culturally constructed nature of age can we expose its ubiquitous and stealthy influence.
| ISBN: | 9780791476581 |
| Publication date: | 1st January 2010 |
| Author: | Kay Heath |
| Publisher: | SUNY Press an imprint of State University of New York Press |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Pagination: | 260 pages |
| Series: | SUNY Series, Studies in the Long Nineteenth Century |
| Genres: |
Literature: history and criticism European history |
Uncovers the origins of midlife anxiety in Victorian print culture.Aging by the Book offers an innovative look at the ways in which middle age, which for centuries had been considered the prime of life, was transformed during the Victorian era into a period of decline. Single women were nearing middle age at thirty, and mothers in their forties were expected to become sexless; meanwhile, fortyish men anguished over whether their "time for love had gone by." Looking at well-known novels of the period, as well as advertisements, cartoons, and medical and advice manuals, Kay Heath uncovers how this ideology of decline permeated a changing culture.
Aging by the Book features in the following genres: Literature: history and criticism, European history
Paperback, Hardback. Not Available.
Aging by the Book was written by Kay Heath and published by SUNY Press an imprint of State University of New York Press
Aging by the Book has 260 pages
Yes it is part of SUNY Series, Studies in the Long Nineteenth Century series