ABSTRACT

First published in 1979. This book examines the distressed gentlewoman stereotype, primarily through a study of the experience of emigration among single middle-class women between 1830 and 1914. Based largely on a study of government and philanthropic emigration projects, it argues that the image of the downtrodden resident governess does inadequate justice to Victorian middle-class women’s responses to the experience of economic and social decline and to insufficient female employment opportunities. This title will be of interest to students of history.

chapter |9 pages

Introduction

chapter 1|33 pages

The Problem of the Distressed Gentlewoman

chapter 2|18 pages

Pioneer Emigrants, 1832–1836

chapter 3|21 pages

Mary Taylor in New Zealand: A Case Study

chapter 4|32 pages

Emigration and Respectability, 1849–1853

chapter |8 pages

Conclusion