Family Sex & Marriag

by Lawrence Stone

Book Overview

This book studies the evolution of the family from the sixteenth to the eighteenth century and how the process radically influenced child-rearing, education, contraception, sexual behaviour and... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0061319791
• ISBN13: 9780061319792
• Release Date: February 1983
• Publisher: Harper Perennial
• Length: 464 Pages
• Weight: 0.98 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.3" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

The Evolution Of Western Family Life

Abolish the family! That was a slogan that resonated among those of us of the "Generation of "68" radical and counterculture movements of the 1960's as we rebelled, justifiably so, against the straitjacket of the bourgeois nuclear family structures that we grew up in. Or, as was additionally true in the case of women (and not only women in the end) the struggle against the extra burdens imposed by the dominant male role models that women were seemingly forced to put up with (including in the radical movements). Well, since that time there have been some changes in the nuclear family structure; some dramatic as with the increased role outside the home for women in education, employment and political life and some changes that glaringly reveal the same old straitjacket of women's continuing dominant role in childcare and domestic duties. In short, in its essentials the bourgeois nuclear family structure has, more or less, survived the onslaught of the 1960's. Although we are wiser now in our understanding that abolishing the family by proclamation was utopian nevertheless the need to replace that structure continues today. For those who argue that even that premise is utopian (if just plain not desirable) then Professor Lawrence Stone's little treatise (well not so little, abridged it still comes to over 400 pages. One can only wonder what the full volume of over 800 pages entailed.) on the evolution of English family life between 1500 and 1800 (with a fair amount of carry over to America) does a great deal to demonstrate that even this seemingly eternal bourgeois nuclear family structure had made dramatic changes over time. As always with older books reviewed here use the material with the understanding that, particularly in this field with the tremendous rises in women's studies since the 1970's, that this is a place to start not finish. Obviously, for those who are the least bit familiar with the historic rise of capitalism, particularly England's vanguard role in that rise the period under discussion in Professor Stone's book, is something of a primer for the changes in English society that would drive the industrial revolution of the later part of this period. Stone thus spends some worthwhile time on the decline of the old agrarian, almost feudal, family networks based on kinship and clientage that dominated in the early period, how these arrangements were undermined by the rise of the state, the rise of cities and the capitalization of agriculture. These are therefore the predicates to creating a national market in commodities, and in their wake family relationships. No study of England in the period that includes the English revolution of the mid-17th century can ignore the importance to changes in family life and sexual mores that the temporary victory of what we call Puritanism brought with it. In many ways the Puritans, or at least their ethos, were the vanguard of the bourgeois nuclear family as we know it today. Consecrating on the

Good product!

This book was in excellent condition for a used book. It came in plenty of time, and I have no complaints.

Sex in the Early Modern Times and What Not

"The Family, Sex and Marriage in England 1500 - 1800" by Lawrence Stone This is a truly unusual book. It is a history book, but it's subject matter is interesting, of course, but handled very well and scholarly. Mr. Stone does us all a service in studying and presenting this subject in this fashion. His book goes back through the history of society in regards of family, sex and marriage to show how it changed in perspective and purpose. The society of 16th century England was very different from that of 19th century England. The main differences were in purposes and roles people played within their society: for instance, at the beginning of the history, children were disposable; at the end of the history, they were loved and coddled. The extraordinary amount of change in those three centuries is what is so amazing. We do not think that there has been a time that was very unlike our own in the raising of children, and yet, from the one example above, there has been a sea change in how children are treated and raised. The same can be said for relations between husband and wife, servant and lord, merchant and customer, etc. We just do not realize the change in values and society. It is probably because of the slowness, or the subtleness, of those changes. There are some books that have come out in the last ten years or so about the homosexual relations some of the people had through the Middle Ages on until the middle 1800's. Now I wonder if the changes in societies attitude towards homosexuals has been as gradual and subtle so that we do not even remember the alternative was prevalent not too long ago?

Excellent information source for genealogists and historians

This densely written and lengthy book is sometimes difficult reading, but more than worth the effort! It is an excellent source of information for genealogists trying to understand the motivation of ancestors whose actions seem incomprehensible today. By providing detailed analysis of family relationships from 1500 to 1800 in England, Mr. Stone has given us all an insight into thought processes and values that are very different from our own. The book would be equally valuable for anyone trying to understand the everyday lives of people in another time, to historians, to authors doing research for historical novels or plays, or simply to anyone who wants to take the equivalent of a "ride in a time machine". This is an outstanding book and I highly recommend it, though not for light reading!