The Good Englishwoman

A sequence of reflective essays surveys the lives, habits, and public roles of English women, moving from childhood through courtship, marriage, and motherhood to manners, artistic tastes, work, leisure, and political participation. Writing from a masculine observational viewpoint, the author questions myths of female mystery, notes postwar shifts in responsibilities and capacities, and argues for expanding opportunity and political enfranchisement. Portraits combine social commentary, anecdote, and cultural criticism to register changing expectations and the tensions between traditional domestic duties and emerging public and civic roles.