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Of Intemperance, Class and Gender in Colonial Queensland : A Working-Class Woman's Account of Alcohol Abuse
single work
Issue Details:
First known date:
2011...
2011
Of Intemperance, Class and Gender in Colonial Queensland : A Working-Class Woman's Account of Alcohol Abuse
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'Writings by working-class women are relatively rare in the historical
record, especially for mid-nineteenth century Australia. The letters of
Julia Cross to her mother in Ely, Cambridgeshire, are notable not just for
the mundane matters they discuss, but for the unique insight they give
to a woman trapped by her class and gender because of her husband's
intemperate habits. In a hard-headed decision, Julia resolved to stay with
her husband and live out the consequences. The letters graphically describe
her struggle to provide the necessities of life for her family and the stresses
of physically protecting her children when her husband was drunk. Julia
is revealed as a hard-working and resourceful woman who was committed
to giving her children the best she could. The letters give us access to
one working-class woman's perspective on men's drinking, one that was
certainly not the narrow vision of the domestic sphere associated with the
middle class. Julia found spaces outside the domestic sphere in which to
work for her family's benefit.' (Author's abstract)
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Last amended 21 Jun 2012 14:59:23
139-157
Of Intemperance, Class and Gender in Colonial Queensland : A Working-Class Woman's Account of Alcohol Abuse
History Australia
Subjects:
- No Place for a Nervous Lady : Voices from the Australian Bush 1984 anthology correspondence
- My Name Is Ross : An Alcoholic's Journey 2010 single work autobiography
- Life Lines : Australian Women's Letters and Diaries, 1788-1840 1992 anthology correspondence
- Rosa! Rosa! : A Life of Rosa Praed, Novelist and Spiritualist 1999 single work biography
- The Letters of Rachel Henning 1952 selected work correspondence biography
- Core of My Heart, My Country : Women's Sense of Place and the Land in Australia & Canada 2004 single work criticism
- Ipswich area, South East Queensland, Queensland,
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