Servants and Gentlewomen to the Golden Land: The Emigration of Single Women from Britain to Southern Africa, 1820-1939

Description

Too often, the emigration of women has been treated as an adjunct to that of men, especially in the case of families travelling together. In significant ways, however, the emigration of single women from Britain in the 19th and early 20th centuries was distinct from the general movement. It was rooted, in the main, in those features of British society peculiar to their sex, and also in conditions in the colonies that made the venture possible for them. What factors would cause a woman to leave all she has known for the uncertainty and danger of a 'wild' colony half a world away? How did these women adapt to the unique circumstances of life in southern Africa? These are some of the questions addressed by the author, herself the daughter of an emigrant couple, in this fascinating book. The author not only explores the larger issues of single women's emigration to southern Africa, but also presents the compelling experiences of individual women, as seen through documents by them and people who knew them.

Mrs Cecillie Swaisland Centre for Cross-Cultural Research on Women,University of Oxford and formerly University Fellow, Institute for Social and Economic Research, Rhodes University, formerly

'...of considerable interest in exploring one of the issues in imperial migration...a highly readable account of the subject.' Ecumene 'One of the book's strengths is that it provides a detailed outline of the myriad number of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century emigration societies and philanthropic organizations which catered to the needs of the single woman.' Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History " Swaisland has undertaken a mammoth task in Servants and gentlewomen to the golden land. [...] Swaisland's book makes a significant contribution to women's history using personal correspondence in conjunction with other primary and secondary sources." Anthropological Forum