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Barbara Caine, Gillian Sutherland. Faith, Duty and Power of Mind: The Cloughs and Their Circle, 1820–1960. New York: Cambridge University Press. 2006. Pp. x, 262. $70.00, The American Historical Review, Volume 112, Issue 4, October 2007, Pages 1261–1262, https://doi.org/10.1086/ahr.112.4.1261
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Extract
Some of the new insights into the nature and dynamics of Victorian family life that are provided by focusing on women rather than men are well illustrated in this excellent study of the Cloughs, centering as it does on Anne Jemima Clough (referred to in the book always as Annie) and her niece, Blanche Athena (known as Thena). Once women are seen as individuals with a range of needs and desires that often come into conflict with social and familial expectations, rather than primarily as “helpmeets” and support figures to husbands and fathers, not only are sibling and parent-child relationships thrown into a new relief, but it becomes clear also that changes in family fortune are complex phenomena that affect family members differently. Thus, while the business failures of the somewhat reckless and improvident James Clough caused upheaval and considerable distress to his wife and sons, they were the only thing that made it possible for his daughter, Anne Jemima, to venture beyond the family circle, to set up her own small schools, and to begin the work that would eventually take her to Newnham College. Neither of her parents liked her engaging in any form of teaching, and her capacity to continue doing so was possible only for as long as shaky family finances made her income helpful.
