Don'ts for Wives

"Art is a hard mistress, and there is no art quite so hard as that of being a wife." So begins this entertaining and enlightening booklet of Don'ts for Wives. Discussing such categories as "How to Avoid Discord," "Financial Matters," "Food," and "Evenings at Home," Don'ts for Wives is full of advice for ways in which a proper and loving wife should behave toward her husband. Each chapter is comprised of a list of "don'ts" that wives should follow if they wish to run a successful home and keep their husbands happy. While much of the advice is outdated, a surprising number of her recommendations are still applicable today. A delightful glimpse into turn-of-the-century British life, Don'ts for Wives is for anyone interested in etiquette, sociology, or who is just looking for a laugh. Also part of this series are Don'ts for Husbands and Don'ts for Mothers, available from Cosimo Classics.

Little is known about BLANCHE EBBUTT other than the knowledge that she is the author of the witty, instructive 20th century etiquette guides Don'ts for Wives and Don'ts for Husbands. It is suspected that she was also the anonymous author of the earlier Don'ts for Mothers.