The Ladies' Guide to True Politeness and Perfect Mannersor, Miss Leslie's Behaviour Book
The Ladies' Guide to True Politeness and Perfect Mannersor, Miss Leslie's Behaviour Book
The definitive guide to 19th century womanhood, Eliza Leslie's 1828 etiquette manual prescribes every rule a young lady must master to secure her place in polite society. From the precise art of making and receiving visits to the proper way to sit, speak, and dress, Leslie leaves no social convention unexplored. The book systematically addresses conversation etiquette, appropriate dress, conduct in public spaces, and the delicate diplomacy required to navigate Victorian society's labyrinth of expectations. What makes this volume essential reading today is not its prescriptive advice but what it reveals about the era's constraints on women. Every rule about deference, modesty, and propriety exposes the invisible cage of gender expectations that shaped female experience. The earnestness with which Leslie instructs young women on such matters as how long to stay at a neighbor's tea or the correct posture for receiving callers becomes both hilarious and poignant to modern readers. Part time capsule, part social history, this guide will appeal to anyone curious about how our ancestors lived and what has changed for women in the two centuries since. Historians, fans of historical fiction, and readers who love a good period document will find endless fascination in these pages.
Editions
X-Ray
“An amusing writer of the last century, justly complains of the want of definite words to express, distinctly and unmistakably, the different degrees of visits, with reference to their length. Whether the stay of the guest comprises ten minutes, an hour, an evening, a day, a week, or a month, still it goes under the vague and general term of a visit.We propose, humourously, that if the stay of the guest exceeds a week, it should be called a 'visitation.' If it includes a dining, or a tea-drinking, or evening-spending, it may be terms 'a visit;' while a mere call can be mentioned as 'a vis.””
— Eliza Leslie
