Books by Kirstin Olsen

This book illustrates the social change that took place in the lives of women during the Progressive Era.The political and social change of the Progressive Era brought conflicts over labor, women's rights, consumerism, religion, sexuality, and many other aspects of American life. As Americans argued and fought over suffrage and political reform, vast changes were also taking place in women's professional, material, personal, recreational, and intellectual lives. In this installment of Greenwood's Daily Life through History series, award-winning author Kirstin Olsen brings to life the everyday experiences, priorities, and challenges of women in America's Progressive Era (ca. 1890-1920). From the barnstorming "bloomer girls" who showed America that women could play baseball to film star, tycoon, and co-founder of the Academy of Motion Pictures Mary Pickford, and from the highly skilled "Hello Girls"-telephone operators who helped win World War I-to the remarkable journalist and civil rights activist Ida Wells-Barnett, women led both famous and ordinary lives that were shaped by and helped to drive the dramatic social change taking place during the Progressive Era. All of this and more is described in this book through topical sections as well as stories and profiles that reveal to readers the daily lives of America's women who lived during the Progressive Era. Readers will benefit from Olsen's characteristically sharp eye for detail, power of description, and breadth of historical knowledge.

Informative, richly detailed, and entertaining, this book portrays daily life in England in 1700-1800, embracing all levels of society-from the aristocracy to the very poor-to describe a nation grappling with modernity.When did Western life begin to strongly resemble our modern world? Despite the tremendous evolution of society and technology in the last 50 years, surprisingly, many aspects of life in the 21st century in the United States directly date back to the 18th century across the Atlantic. Daily Life in Eighteenth-Century England covers specific topics that affect nearly everyone living in England in the 18th century: the government (including law and order); race, class, and gender; work and wages; religion; the family; housing; clothing; and food. It also describes aspects of life that were of greater relevance to some than others, such as entertainment, the city of London, the provinces and beyond, travel and tourism, education, health and hygiene, and science and technology.The book conveys what life was like for the common people in England in the years 1700-1800 through chapters that describe the state of society at the beginning of the century, delineate both change and continuity by the century's end, and identify which segments of society were impacted most by what changes-for example, improvements to roads, a key change in marriage laws, the steam engine, and the booming textile industry. Students and general readers alike will find the content interesting and the additional features-such as appendices, a chronology of major events, and tables of information on comparative incomes and costs of representative items-helpful in research or learning.

One of the greatest writers of all time, Jane Austen drew upon her domestic culture to color her works. Included in this book are more than 200 recipes for the many, many meals she alludes to throughout her writings. Recipes appear in modernized form, along with quotations from Austen's writings and excerpts from cookbooks of her era. Sure to entertain her numerous fans, the volume provides readers with recipes for such dishes as fried beef steaks, broiled mutton chops, roast pork loin, buttered crab or lobster, Stilton cheese, syrup of mulberries, almond pudding, French bread, mushroom ketchup, and many others.The book begins with some introductory chapters on cooking and eating in Austen's world. It then presents chapters on broad categories of food, such as beef and veal, seafood, pastries and sweets, and beverages. Each chapter includes extracts from Austen's works and from cookbooks of her period, accompanied by easy-to-follow modernized recipes. The volume closes with some sample menus; glossaries of ingredients, sources, and special tools; and a bibliography of period cookbooks and modern studies.

Impeccably researched information is presented about domestic items, the social scene, the workplace, the church, special events and rituals, and everyday customs that constituted life in Jane Austen's England.

This casebook probes the many layers of meaning in Golding's "Lord of the Flies". It examines its literary, philosophical, historical, scientific and religious significance, integrating primary and secondary documents, with extracts from texts as diverse as the Bible and war crimes interviews.