Elite Women and Polite Society in Eighteenth-Century Scotland, Hardcover by Glover, Katharine, ISBN 1843836815, ISBN-13 9781843836810, Brand New, Free shipping in the US

Glover (economics, U. of Edinburgh, Scotland) examines the impact fashion and education had on elite women's lives and how women exploited these as opportunities to gain new kinds of respect and political power in Scottish society. Focusing on the 50 year period between 1720 and 1770, she draws on the personal writings of women from gentry families, aristocrats, sisters of socially ambitious architects for her sources. She provides background on the kind of society elite women inhabited in 18th century Scotland and then surveys the broad areas of activity women were occupying: education and upbringing, reading and print culture, polite sociability, politics, and travel. She observes in her conclusion that toward the end of the century the promotion of women in public spheres was seen as a sign of social decay. An imprint of Boydell & Brewer. Annotation ©2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR ()