Frost's Laws and By-Laws of American Society

Frost, S. AnnieProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 3.0
Word count
367K words
Chapters
37

Tags

English Originals Law Interpersonal CommunicationSocial EtiquetteSocial ObservationWestern SocietyCivic AwarenessSocial ConductLife WisdomCode of ConductPopular Narrative19th Century

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Frost's Laws and By-Laws of American Society by S. Annie FrostAuthor: Frost, S. Annie (Sarah Annie),Language: English, Class: BJ: Philosophy, Psychology, Religion: Ethics, Social usages, Etiquette, Religion, Release Date: Jul 1, 2005

Editor's review

This is a nineteenth-century guide to American social etiquette, in which S. Annie Frost sets out the "laws" and "by-laws" governing social occasions of the day in methodical, article-by-article form. Its value lies not in offering universally applicable rules of conduct but in preserving a complete specimen of behavioral norms: from everyday greetings and dinner seating to letter-writing and public deportment, every point has its specific clause. Readers can see how etiquette was codified almost like legal statutes, and through it observe how nineteenth-century American society understood class, gender, and respectability. The prose bears the clear imprint of its era, and some views are plainly out of step with contemporary values—which is precisely why it is better read as primary material for social and etiquette history than as a modern social manual. It suits readers interested in Victorian social life, cultural history, or English etiquette literature, and English learners seeking a sample of nineteenth-century practical prose.

Who it's for

A good fit for

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Reading tips

  1. Start with the table of contents and pick chapters on entertaining, letter-writing, and public conduct to compare past and present.
  2. Treat it as historical material rather than a guide, noting clauses and views that surprise you as you read.
  3. Read it alongside etiquette books from other periods to observe how norms changed.
  4. For the English original, read slowly with a dictionary, noting fixed expressions and polite formulas of the time.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

Contents

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12
  13. 13
  14. 14
  15. 15
  16. 16
  17. 17
  18. 18
  19. 19
  20. 20
  21. 21
  22. 22
  23. 23
  24. 24
  25. 25
  26. 26
  27. 27
  28. 28
  29. 29
  30. 30
  31. 31
  32. 32
  33. 33
  34. 34
  35. 35
  36. 36
  37. 37

FAQ

Is this book suitable as a modern social-etiquette guide? No. Its norms took shape in nineteenth-century America, and many of its views differ markedly from contemporary society; applying them directly may be inappropriate. Its value lies in historical observation and documentary reading, not in offering actionable social advice for today.
What level of English is needed to read this book? The original is nineteenth-century English, with sentence patterns and diction characteristic of the period. A reading level of intermediate or above is recommended, along with a dictionary. If you only want an overview, start with the table of contents and chapter openings to grasp the overall structure.
What most distinguishes this book from ordinary etiquette books? It writes social norms as "laws" and "by-laws" resembling legal statutes, with a strong clause-like quality and broad coverage. What readers see is not scattered advice but a systematic specimen of old-era behavioral norms.

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About the author

Frost, S. Annie Author · American

S. Annie Frost was an American author about whom public information is limited; neither her dates of birth and death nor detailed biographical facts are on record. Judging from the work held in the collection, she mainly wrote books on etiquette, games, and home entertainment. Her representative work, Frost's Laws and By-Laws of American Society, deals with social norms and rules of conduct and addresses readers who wish to understand American social etiquette and the conventions of everyday interaction. Her writing is practical and instructive, organizing abstract social customs into rules that readers can follow in the home, at gatherings, and in public settings. Such subjects were common in nineteenth-century American etiquette literature, and her work accordingly offers some reference value for domestic life and social education. Only one work by her is confirmed in the collection, and other details remain to be verified.