Helpful Score: 1
One of the most powerful aspects of this book is Chris Enss care in selecting stories; she surveyed a range of brides and bridegrooms and the methods they used to get together. Before reading this book, I had no idea there were any other avenues to marriage than mail-order brides.
A variety of publications and marriage brokers were available from 1849 to 1916. Immediately after the Civil War, there was a severe imbalance in population by gender. For example, the East was awash in widows and unmarried women while thousands of men were looking for a wife in the West.
Men went west for the Gold Rush, mining adventures and cheap land. It didnt take long for the men to realize that they wanted wives but there were few coming West. In most areas, men outnumbered women by 200 to one and more! The demand was so great that even whores had no trouble leaving the life and becoming a treasured wife and mother.
Enss highlights a wide range of stories and situations. The only thing I didnt enjoy was her writing style. Enss did careful research but the stories seemed blah. To be fair, it could also have been the fact that the stories were only a few pages long; its hard to build drama in 2 or 3 pages.
There didnt seem be any organized plan for the book; it was a collection of anecdotes and interesting facts. Unfortunately, most of the facts were stated at least twice. I was surprised that such a fascinating topic could be presented in such a ho-hum fashion. 3 stars
A variety of publications and marriage brokers were available from 1849 to 1916. Immediately after the Civil War, there was a severe imbalance in population by gender. For example, the East was awash in widows and unmarried women while thousands of men were looking for a wife in the West.
Men went west for the Gold Rush, mining adventures and cheap land. It didnt take long for the men to realize that they wanted wives but there were few coming West. In most areas, men outnumbered women by 200 to one and more! The demand was so great that even whores had no trouble leaving the life and becoming a treasured wife and mother.
Enss highlights a wide range of stories and situations. The only thing I didnt enjoy was her writing style. Enss did careful research but the stories seemed blah. To be fair, it could also have been the fact that the stories were only a few pages long; its hard to build drama in 2 or 3 pages.
There didnt seem be any organized plan for the book; it was a collection of anecdotes and interesting facts. Unfortunately, most of the facts were stated at least twice. I was surprised that such a fascinating topic could be presented in such a ho-hum fashion. 3 stars
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