Bread Winner
An Intimate History of the Victorian Economy Emma Griffin Yale University Press, 320 pages, £20
Emma Griffin’s new title promises to “change our understanding of daily life in Victorian Britain”, and that’s exactly what it does. Although not aimed at family historians, has a lot to teach us about our ancestors’ lives.
Meticulously researched, the book draws on more than
600 working- class autobiographies, including over 200 written by women, to tell the fascinating stories of Victorian families and their finances. Griffin covers male and female wages and employment; how money was
earned and spent; and how the family dynamic worked.
At its heart is the truth that low female wages meant it was almost impossible for most workingclass women to live independently from their parents, and that a wife needed a good breadwinner who would give her most of his earnings for housekeeping. Sadly, this was not always the case and alcohol was usually the reason for withholding wages.
Bread Winner is academic in tone, but it’s easy to dip into. Almost a third of its pages are devoted to a bibliography, notes and index, so if you’re interested in an autobiography that’s been quoted from, you can look it up yourself.