Bachelor Girl: The Secret History of Single Women in the 20th Century [Paperback] Israel, Betsy
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Victorian pundits recommended that they be rounded up and shipped overseas. During the Great Depression they were condemned as job-stealers and home-wreckers. Single women have long had an uneasy relationship with the rest of society. In this witty, thoughtful and irresistibly engaging book, Betsy Israel chronicles the ever-changing life of the single woman over the past 150 years. Drawing extensively on primary sources, including private journals, newspaper stories, magazine articles, advertisements, films and television programmes, Bachelor Girl paints an extraordinarily vivid portrait of single women - and the way they were perceived - from the flappers of the Roaring Twenties to the working women of the War years to the 'ballbreaking' career women of the 1980s. The story is brought right up-to-date in a final chapter on modern single icons such as Bridget Jones, Ally McBeal and the Sex and the City gang, who reflect a new generation of single women unafraid to live life on their own terms.
Review
"'Fascinating... a tonic' - Observer; 'A must-read for all women' - Daily Mail; 'Wonderful' - New Statesman"
About the Author
Betsy Israel is a journalist and former editor who has contributed to publications including the New York Times, Elle, GQ, Rolling Stone and Vogue. She is also the author of numerous screenplays. She lives in Manhattan with her husband and two children.
Journalist Betsy Israel chronicles the ever-changing life of the single woman since the late-1800s. Drawing extensively on primary sources, including private journals, newspaper stories, magazine articles, advertisements, films and television programmes, Israel paints a vivid portrait of single women - and the way they were perceived - from the late-19th century to the turn of the 21st. From the Bowery girls of New York and the flappers of the Roaring Twenties to the working women of the War years and the "ballbreaking" career women of the 1980s, single women have long had an uneasy relationship with the rest of society. The author shines a light on the (often quite ludicrous) old stereotypes that have been used to keep single women in their place, and celebrates their spirit and resourcefulness in the face of condemnation and contempt from commentators anxious that unattached females might undermine the social fabric.