Summary of Amanda Vickery's The Gentleman's Daughter

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 The women in this study were from families headed by lesser landed gentlemen, attorneys, doctors, clerics, merchants, and manufacturers. They were not pretentious about their aristocracy, but they did not pretend to be members of the fashionable cosmopolitan beau monde.

#2 The Georgian social stratum has not been well served by recent historical investigation. The English lesser gentry, who were recruited into prestigious trades, have not been researched at all.

#3 The image of a deep cultural divide between the local elites of land and trade is not accurate at the parish level. In fact, the land to the south of Pendle Hill was known for its poor soil, heavy rainfall, and long-established textile industries.

#4 The Pennines were a remote area, far from the centers of polite society. However, they were not lacking in polite families. The valley of the Lancashire Calder was home to many well-established families, who built modest mansions and hosted balls in August 1777.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: May 5, 2022
• ISBN: 9798822506008

IRB Media

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Insights on Amanda Vickery's The Gentlemans Daughter

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 4

Insights from Chapter 5

Insights from Chapter 6

Insights from Chapter 7

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

The women in this study were from families headed by lesser landed gentlemen, attorneys, doctors, clerics, merchants, and manufacturers. They were not pretentious about their aristocracy, but they did not pretend to be members of the fashionable cosmopolitan beau monde.

#2

The Georgian social stratum has not been well served by recent historical investigation. The English lesser gentry, who were recruited into prestigious trades, have not been researched at all.

#3

The image of a deep cultural divide between the local elites of land and trade is not accurate at the parish level. In fact, the land to the south of Pendle Hill was known for its poor soil, heavy rainfall, and long-established textile industries.

#4

The Pennines were a remote area, far from the centers of polite society. However, they were not lacking in polite families. The valley of the Lancashire Calder was home to many well-established families, who built modest mansions and hosted balls in August 1777.

#5

The Parkers of Alkincoats exemplify the links between the northern gentry and the textile trade. John Parker was a scion of the Yorkshire gentry who made his way as a London linen-draper. He inherited the Parker estate through a half-brother in 1728.

#6

The Parker family, who were textile manufacturers, had a land/trade boundary that was crossed and recrossed by individuals in the same family. The Parker brothers, who were textile manufacturers, set up together as hosiers in London in 1779.

#7

The history of the Barcrofts of Noyna throws light on the links between the gentry and the professions, and also on the floating status of the unmarried gentlewoman in lodgings. The Miss Barcofts were the offspring of the prominent barrister John Barcroft of Gisburn and the Lancashire heiress Elizabeth Barcroft.

#8

The Horrocks family, who were wealthy land owners, sought to entrench themselves socially and politically. They had two brothers who were mayors of Preston. The families’ marriages illustrate the social choices of the Cottontots.

#9

Elizabeth Shackleton's social interactions were heavily influenced by her family. She had many kin, and they were especially prominent at dinner parties, in gift exchanges, and in correspondence.

#10

The key players in Elizabeth Shackleton’s social life were well-established neighbouring families, such as the reputable Waltons of Marsden Hall and the aspiring Cunliffes of Wycoller. Her outer circle included grand county families like the Townleys of Royle and the Starkies of Huntroyde.

#11

Elizabeth Shackleton’s social circle was made up of local lesser gentry. While she regularly encountered those families who easily passed the higher property qualification for Deputy-Lieutenant, she was not on intimate terms with