The Decline of Life
Old Age in Eighteenth-Century England

This book presents an important study of the history of ageing.

Susannah R. Ottaway (Author)

9780521037921, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 19 July 2007

340 pages, 21 tables
22.9 x 15.3 x 1.9 cm, 0.513 kg

'This is a thoughtful and thought-provoking book. … This important book deserves the attention of urban historians and hopefully will be the touchstone for detailed micro-studies of the elderly in eighteenth-century urban England.' Urban History

The Decline of Life is an ambitious and absorbing study of old age in eighteenth-century England. Drawing on a wealth of sources - literature, correspondence, poor house and workhouse documents and diaries - Susannah Ottaway considers a wide range of experiences and expectations of age in the period, and demonstrates that the central concern of ageing individuals was to continue to live as independently as possible into their last days. Ageing men and women stayed closely connected to their families and communities, in relationships characterized by mutual support and reciprocal obligations. Despite these aspects of continuity, however, older individuals' ability to maintain their autonomy, and the nature of the support available to them once they did fall into necessity declined significantly in the last decades of the century. As a result, old age was increasingly marginalized. Historical demographers, historical gerontologists, sociologists, social historians and women's historians will find this book essential reading.

List of figures
List of tables
Acknowledgements
List of abbreviations
Introduction: old age in eighteenth-century England: no 'golden age of ageing'
1. Who was 'old' in eighteenth-century England?
2. The activities of the 'helmsman': self-reliance, work and community expectations of the elderly
3. 'The comforts of a private fire-side'
4. Independent but not alone: family ties for the elderly
5. Community assistance to the aged under the Old Poor Law
6. Continuity and change in community assistance to the elderly over the eighteenth century
7. Within workhouse walls: indoor relief for the elderly
Conclusion: old age as a useful category of historical analysis
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Coping with old age [VFJG], Geriatric medicine [MJX], Population & demography [JHBD], Gender studies: women [JFSJ1], Social & cultural history [HBTB], Modern history to 20th century: c 1700 to c 1900 [HBLL], British & Irish history [HBJD1]