Home Amusements

Mary Elizabeth Wilson SherwoodProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.5

Word count: 262K words
Chapters: 27

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. Home Amusements by M. E. W. Sherwood. Author: Sherwood, M. E. W. (Mary Elizabeth Wilson), 1826-1903. Language: English. Class: HQ: Social sciences: The family, Marriage, Sex and Gender. Release Date: Oct 28, 2016

Editor's review

Home Amusements is a late nineteenth-century domestic-life reader by Mary Elizabeth Wilson Sherwood, classified under family and social life. The title points directly to "home amusements," and the contents center on organizing pastimes within the household and fostering interaction among family and friends, reflecting the period's middle-class concern with leisure arrangements, etiquette, and domestic atmosphere. As a public-domain ebook, its value lies not in offering a list of games to be used as-is today, but in presenting the domestic ideals and social tastes of an era; it is useful to readers studying family history, the history of leisure culture, or Victorian ways of life. The prose carries an old-fashioned didactic tone and moves at a leisurely pace, making it better suited to reading as a historical source than as a practical manual for immediate entertainment. Readers may compare it with domestic readers of the same period to observe how "amusement" was assigned the dual function of edification and emotional bonding.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers studying nineteenth-century family life and leisure culture
Enthusiasts interested in Victorian social etiquette and domestic ideals
History and literature students who need public-domain source material for background reading
Readers who enjoy slow reading of old-style essays and observing period details of daily life

Not a good fit for

People who want modern family games or party plans they can put to use immediately
General fiction readers who prefer strong plotting and reading excitement
Beginners with limited English reading experience who need modern annotations

Reading tips

Read by topic: start with the table of contents sections on family gatherings and children's pastimes, then fill in the other chapters.
Take notes as you read on differences from today's home entertainment, forming a brief comparative note to help understand the changes over time.
Treat the book as a historical source rather than a guide; when encountering specific game rules, first consider their period context and do not rush to try them out.
Read one short section at a time and write down one observation, building these into a short post-reading review so that the old-fashioned style does not lead you to give up halfway.

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.

FAQ

Can the amusements in this book still be followed today?

Some home games and party forms may still offer inspiration, but many practices in the book depend on nineteenth-century domestic conditions and social etiquette, and copying them directly may not be appropriate. A safer approach is to read it as a historical source, understand how people of the time arranged their leisure, and then select for yourself the ideas worth borrowing.

Can I understand it without relevant historical background?

You can grasp the general meaning, but much of the book involves the family roles, etiquette norms, and moral views of the time, and without background it can easily feel preachy. It is advisable first to learn some basic facts about Victorian family life, or to read it alongside a relevant introduction.

Is this book a practical manual or a collection of essays?

Judging by the title and classification, it is intended for home entertainment and the arrangement of daily life and has a practical aim, but its style leans toward old-fashioned essays and moral exhortation rather than a clearly organized modern how-to manual. Readers should select sections by topic and should not expect step-by-step game instructions.

What is the reading experience of the Project Gutenberg edition like?

This edition is a free public-domain ebook that preserves the original English text and usually has no modern annotations or introduction. The layout suits e-readers, but old spellings and long sentences may add to the reading burden; it is best to keep a dictionary at hand and slow down.

Comments

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About the author

Mary Elizabeth Wilson Sherwood Author · American · 1826–1903

Mary Elizabeth Wilson Sherwood (1826–1903) was an American author, etiquette writer, and society figure, often publishing under the pen name M. E. W. Sherwood. Born in Keene, New Hampshire, and died in New York in 1903, she focused on etiquette and social life. Her best-known work, Manners and Social Usages (1884), sets out social rules and standards of conduct in detail, while The Art of Entertaining and Home Amusements offer practical guidance on hospitality and domestic recreation. She also wrote novels, including The Amenities of Life and Transplanted Roses, and contributed regularly to major magazines; her writing, both instructive and readable, remains a useful reference for understanding nineteenth-century American etiquette and social culture.