Don'ts for Wives

By Blanche Ebbutt

More than 1,000,000 copies sold!

Don'ts for Wives is a facsimile of the original 1913 edition, containing hundreds of snippets of entertaining advice for a happy marriage. While some are quirkily of their time, and rich with fascinating insights into the history of relations between the sexes, many contain wisdom that rings true more than 100 years after they were written.

Inside you can find advice on topics such as evenings at home, jealousy, food or even household management. There is much wisdom to be taken from this little book to ensure matrimonial bliss:

'Don't permit yourself to forget for a single instant that nothing is more annoying to a tired man than the sight of a half-finished laundry work.'

'Don't let him have to search the house for you. Listen for his latch-key and meet him on the threshold.'

'Don't nag your husband. If he won't carry out your wishes for love of you, he certainly won't because you nag him.'

This charming pocket-sized edition is perfect as a Christmas stocking filler, or as a gift (along with the matching Don'ts for Husbands) for newly-weds, engagements and anniversaries.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
• Release date: Jun 1, 2010
• ISBN: 9781408133521

Blanche Ebbutt

Little is known about BLANCHE EBBUTT other than the knowledge that she is the author of the witty, instructive 20th century etiquette guides Don'ts for Wives and Don'ts for Husbands. It is suspected that she was also the anonymous author of the earlier Don'ts for Mothers.

Book preview

Originally published 1913

Republished 2007

Reprinted 2007 (seven times)

Reprinted 2008 (three times)

Reprinted 2009 (three times)

Reprinted 2010

by A & C Black Publishers Limited

36 Soho Square, London W1D 3QY

www.acblack.com

eISBN: 978-1-40813-352-1

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available

from the British Library.

Printed by WKT Company Ltd, China

DON’TS

FOR WIVES

DON’TS

FOR WIVES

BY

BLANCHE EBBUTT

LONDON

A. & C. BLACK, LTD.

1913

[All rights reserved]

Table of Contents

Preface

Don’ts For Wives

I.—PERSONALITIES

II.—HOW TO AVOID DISCORD

III.—HABITS

IV.—FINANCIAL MATTERS

V.—EVENINGS AT HOME

VI.—JEALOUSY

VII.—RECREATION

VIII.—FOOD

IX.—DRESS

X.—ENTERTAINING

XI.—HOUSEHOLD MANAGEMENT

XII.—CHILDREN

PREFACE

Art is a hard mistress, and there is no art quite so hard as that of being a wife.

So many women exhaust their artistic power in getting married, which is, after all, a comparatively easy business. It takes a perfect artist to remain married – married in the perfect sense of the term; but most of us have to be content to muddle through.

Imagine a girl called upon without a single lesson to produce a tune – a lot of tunes – in fact, one never-ending succession of harmonies – from the most difficult instrument in the world. Note that the instrument not only gets grumpy in cold weather and skittish in the spring – not only slacks or breaks its strings with every change of temperature – but becomes tempestuous over a tight shoe, broody over an out-of-date egg, and cross, sulky, or mirthful for reasons that no sane woman can understand.

That is what the average wife has to reckon with; and if she intends to play the game – humiliating as some may think it – HE will loom largely on the horizon all her life.

I hope she may find it worthwhile to take a few hints from an old hand.

BLANCHE EBBUTT.

DON’TS FOR WIVES

I.—PERSONALITIES.

DON’T think that there is any satisfactory substitute for love between husband and wife. Respect and esteem make a good foundation, but they won’t do alone.

Don’t be surprise, if you have married for money, or position, or fame, that you get only money, or position, or fame; love cannot be bought.

Don’t think that, because you have married for love, you can never know a moment’s unhappiness. Life is not a bed of roses, but love will help to extract the thorns.

Don’t expect life to be all sunshine. Besides, if there are no clouds, you will lose the opportunity of

Reviews for Don'ts for Wives

[pepperwings · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a tiny little book, about 2 x 3" and I expected it to be full of outdated and silly information, with perhaps some household tips that would be useful.

I was surprised to find it has a lot of fairly practical advice for getting along in a partnership--with some sexist views, but not that many overall. It's pretty easy to think of the terms in a broader sense, and it could apply to different types of people rather than "the husband" or "the wife" in the way it's presented.

There are a few amusingly dated items, but again, it isn't the general trend.

[sharlenehsmith · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

For a book that was written almost 100 years ago, it's doing pretty well in keeping up with the times.

Stay light hearted and don't take things to literally, like he is working for you , he earns the money for the both of you. Back in those days I guess it was normal for the wife not to work and look after the house & their belongings.

Some wives can take a page of two from this book and really learn something.