Lois’s answer to “Backwards book rec, by asking if you've read "The Domestic Revolution: How the Introduction of Coal…” > Likes and Comments
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My late mother, born in 1931, remembered visiting her own grandmother (in London, England) and finding that she kept a stock of coal in the bath—apparently having no other use for a bath. This must have horrified my mother, who (at least by the time I knew her) was almost obsessively clean.
My grandmother's house had a coal chute in the basement, which was a source of much terror to our young selves - and even though the basement is now a rec room, all of us who were children at that time still pause at the top of those stairs. ;-)
Goodman's book is excellent, thoroughly researched, fascinating. I must re-read the Fawn book.
I supported a professional in Women's Health at the World Health Organization, and noted that wood-fire cooking also was very bad for women's lungs and posture, and that many toddlers are burned, some dying. Better cooking stoves for various primitive fuel and labor situations are promoted by the non-governmental agencies. I've long been fascinated by historic domestic arrangements, and woodlots for coppicing, etc.
Judy R. Coppicing also led to eaily available basketry material, a renewable resource we should consider using to replace plastic bags.
Ruth Goodman is well worth reading *and* watching--she has featured in all the "Farm" series videos from the UK, which have now covered the Jacobin, Tudor, Victorian, Edwardian, and WWII eras.
@ Judy R. --
Yes, one of the more obscure biographical tidbits about Benjamin Franklin was that he'd had a 4-year-old son who'd died in a home cooking fire accident. Connection with the invention of the Franklin Stove left as an exercise for the insightful historian.
Ta, L.
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Jonathan
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Jul 28, 2021 12:35AM
My late mother, born in 1931, remembered visiting her own grandmother (in London, England) and finding that she kept a stock of coal in the bath—apparently having no other use for a bath. This must have horrified my mother, who (at least by the time I knew her) was almost obsessively clean.
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My grandmother's house had a coal chute in the basement, which was a source of much terror to our young selves - and even though the basement is now a rec room, all of us who were children at that time still pause at the top of those stairs. ;-)
Goodman's book is excellent, thoroughly researched, fascinating. I must re-read the Fawn book.
I supported a professional in Women's Health at the World Health Organization, and noted that wood-fire cooking also was very bad for women's lungs and posture, and that many toddlers are burned, some dying. Better cooking stoves for various primitive fuel and labor situations are promoted by the non-governmental agencies. I've long been fascinated by historic domestic arrangements, and woodlots for coppicing, etc.
Judy R. Coppicing also led to eaily available basketry material, a renewable resource we should consider using to replace plastic bags.
Ruth Goodman is well worth reading *and* watching--she has featured in all the "Farm" series videos from the UK, which have now covered the Jacobin, Tudor, Victorian, Edwardian, and WWII eras.
@ Judy R. --Yes, one of the more obscure biographical tidbits about Benjamin Franklin was that he'd had a 4-year-old son who'd died in a home cooking fire accident. Connection with the invention of the Franklin Stove left as an exercise for the insightful historian.
Ta, L.
