John Bull's Womankind

O‘Rell, Max, 1848-1903Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.7

Word count: 360K words
Chapters: 37

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.John Bull's Womankind (Les Filles de John Bull) by Max O'RellAuthor: O'Rell, Max, 1848-1903,Language: English, Class: DA: History: General and Eastern Hemisphere: Great Britain, Ireland, Central Europe, Release Date: Jul 15, 2018

Editor's review

John Bull's Womankind is a work written in English by the French author Max O'Rell (1848–1903); the original French title was Les Filles de John Bull, and Project Gutenberg has released a free electronic edition. "John Bull" in the title is the traditional personification of Britain; the book offers observations and commentary on English women and belongs to late nineteenth-century cross-cultural observational writing. O'Rell, a native French speaker, writes about English society, often with humor, teasing, and a comparative perspective; such works were popular with English readers in their day, and today they are better suited as material for studying Victorian gender attitudes and Anglo-French mutual perceptions. Readers should note that his observations carry personal stances and period prejudices and should not be taken as objective social survey. It is suitable for readers interested in nineteenth-century English society, gender history, or Anglo-French cultural comparison, and can also serve as a sample of the popular writing style of the time.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Historical readers studying Victorian English gender attitudes
Those interested in Anglo-French cultural comparison and cross-cultural observational writing
Readers who enjoy nineteenth-century English essays and humorous prose
Students collecting material for social history or gender history

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting rigorous sociological research or data support
Readers sensitive to gender discourse carrying period prejudice
Beginners seeking modern views on gender equality

Reading tips

Read the preface or opening chapters first to grasp the author's stance and observational perspective.
While reading, distinguish the author's personal teasing from the social facts of the time; do not conflate the two.
Read alongside works on Victorian English social history to deepen understanding.
Excerpt typical passages as textual samples for analyzing nineteenth-century Anglo-French mutual perceptions.

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

What does John Bull in the title refer to?

John Bull is the traditional personification of Britain, often used to refer to Britain or the British. The title means "the womenfolk of John Bull," i.e., observations and commentary on English women.

Is the author English?

No. Max O'Rell was French and wrote in English as a native French speaker; the book therefore carries an outside observer's comparative perspective and teasing tone, which is one of its characteristics.

Are the book's views still applicable today?

The book's arguments carry the period limitations and gender prejudices of the late nineteenth century and should not be cited directly as modern views; its value lies more in reflecting how English and French society of the time viewed women and each other's cultures.

Comments

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About the author

O‘Rell, Max, 1848-1903 Author

O‘Rell, Max (1848–1903) was a writer about whose life little is publicly documented; his nationality, education, and career remain unclear, and nine of his works are held in the collection. Judging from those works, he was long occupied with British and American society and with cultural differences between Britain and France, and he depicted cross-cultural observation in a light, satirical tone. A Frenchman in America records American manners and society through a visitor‘s eyes, while Jonathan and His Continent rambles through American social customs. John Bull, Junior and English Pharisees, French Crocodiles and Other Anglo-French Typical Characters focus on national stereotypes and linguistic misunderstandings between the two countries, and Woman and Artist and John Bull’s Womankind touch on gender and art. His writing consists mainly of essays and satirical sketches, broad in subject and humorous in tone, and offers some record of nineteenth-century Anglo-American manners and of how the British and French viewed each other.