Living with Lodgers - by Vicky Holmes (Paperback)

About the Book

For the Victorian working class, lodging in someone else's home was commonplace. Drawing on hundreds of coroners' inquests reported in the Victorian press, Living with lodgers traverses England's domestic dwelling lodgings, providing an intimate portrayal of the lives of the inhabitants.

Book Synopsis

For the Victorian working class, lodging in someone else's home was commonplace. Yet, despite their prevalence, lodgers and their householders have received little scholarly attention. Drawing on hundreds of coroners' inquests reported in the Victorian press, Living with Lodgers traverses many domestic dwelling lodgings in England at this time, providing an extraordinary, intimate portrayal of the lives of the inhabitants therein.

From the Back Cover

Living with Lodgers takes the reader behind the closed doors of Victorian England's domestic dwelling lodgings. For the Victorian working class, lodging in someone else's home was commonplace. Indeed, at no other time has the lodger occupied such a central place in the home. Yet, despite this, lodgers and the households that accommodated them have remained significantly under-researched. This is the first book-length study to tell their story. Drawing on almost 900 coroners' inquests reported in the Victorian press, alongside census enumerators' books and other court records, this captivating book delves into the day-to-day business of lodging in someone else's home. Challenging many current perceptions and myths surrounding living with lodgers in Victorian England, this book reveals a much more complicated picture behind the who and why of domestic dwelling lodgings, examines the close networks and monetary arrangements that shaped the lodging exchange, and explores the daily interactions between lodgers and householders. Moreover, in exploring both the lines drawn and crossed in the householder-lodger relationship, this book reshapes our understanding of household dynamics in the Victorian working-class home.

Living with Lodgers not only brings the domestic dwelling lodger out of the shadows but casts a new light upon Victorian England's working-class homes, making the book a vital resource for academics and students across a range of disciplines seeking to cross the threshold to these spaces.

About the Author

Vicky Holmes is an Assistant Professor in History at the University of Notre Dame (USA) in England