Domestic Manners of the Americans (eBook)

In 'Domestic Manners of the Americans', Frances Milton Trollope offers a piercingly observant account of 19th-century American society. Her narrative, stemming from personal experiences while residing in the burgeoning city of Cincinnati, weaves a tapestry of daily life rich in detail and unapologetic in its critique. The adoption of a vividly descriptive literary style sits within the broader genre of travel literature, yet distinctively mirrors the social-satire traditions reminiscent of the era's British context. Her candid portrayal of American customs, education, and class structures, paired with biting commentary on the pervasive influence of evangelicalism and the abhorrent practice of slavery, provides a dual reflection of the country's nascent identity and the stiff upper lip of 19th-century British sensibilities.
As an author, Frances Trollope's motivation lay partly in financial necessity and partly in cultural curiosity turned to criticism. A mother to the novelist Anthony Trollope, she was compelled to publish by the failure of a bazaar she established in Cincinnati meant to emulate London's shopping arcades. Her insights into American life, encased in keen wit and sometimes bordering on the disdainful, emerge from the perspective of a supposedly genteel observer whose expectations were met with the frontier rawness of a society she considered unrefined and brash. Her deep antipathy towards slavery and certain American social habits underlines the work, revealing a complex interplay of moral standings and personal revulsion.
Recommended for academics, students of social history, and general readers with an interest in cultural encounters and historiography, 'Domestic Manners of the Americans' transcends mere travelogue to serve as a seminal examination of American society through a sharply critical British lens. The book is essential reading for those who wish to grasp the intricacies of Anglo-American social dynamics and to understand the historical underpinnings of transatlantic cultural divergences.