Amy Milne-Smith - London Clubland. A Cultural History of Gender and Class in late-Victorian Britain [2011][A]

Book Description
Release date: December 6, 2011 | ISBN-10: 0230120768 | ISBN-13: 978-0230120761 | Edition: 1
In this first academic history of the famed gentlemen’s clubs of London, Amy Milne-Smith reveals these institutions at the height of their power and influence at the turn of the twentieth century, paying special attention to how clubmen defined masculinity and status for their generation. Based on extensive research in club archives along with newspapers, journals, diaries and memoirs, Milne-Smith takes us behind the majestic doors of these most exclusive clubs. Readers will find London Clubland not only an engaging account of clubs, but also a story of troubled marriage, contested urban space, shifting boundaries of class, and a robust masculine culture in decline.

From the Back Cover
"At long last we have a scholarly treatment of this essential dimension of masculine sociability in nineteenth century England. Amy Milne-Smith successfully penetrates the mysteries of London clubland in a fine work of historical reclamation."- John Tosh, professor of History, Roehampton University, UK

"London Clubland is an elegantly written, carefully researched, and clearly presented analysis of the world of the late Victorian gentlemen's club. Original in both conception and execution, the study illustrates just how profitable the turn toward masculinity studies has been to the field of British social and cultural history in recent years. Aside from providing rich insights into the social life and rituals that characterized the experiences of late-Victorian clubmen, Milne-Smith's work also profitably explores under-examined topics like masculine domesticity and the role of gossip in men's lives. On the whole, this is a most impressive intervention into a growing, and increasingly sophisticated, field of study."- Paul Deslandes, associate professor of History, University of Vermont

"Amy Milne-Smith has given us a brilliant examination of the woefully understudied world of gentlemen's clubs. Much more than just a tour of this colorful world, Milne-Smith has produced a thoughtful and nuanced dissection of the ver-shifting nature of elite London masculinity in clubland's heyday and consequently will aid scholars of Victorian and Edwardian Britain in better understanding what exactly was meant by the much-used but seldom-defined term, 'gentleman.'"- Patrick F. McDevitt, Department of History, University of Buffalo SUNY

About the Author
Amy Milne-Smith is an assistant professor of History at Wilfrid Laurier University.