The Ladies Book of Useful Information / Compiled from many sources

Metadata

Gutenberg ID

26368

Title

The Ladies Book of Useful Information / Compiled from many sources

Language

en

Book source

Project Gutenberg

Description max 80 words

A Victorian-era guide offering women secrets to beauty, health, and domestic harmony. It covers personal grooming, marriage advice, pregnancy remedies, and household cures, promising to restore youth and vitality through natural methods.

Summary up to 500 words

Published in 1896, *The Ladies Book of Useful Information* serves as a comprehensive manual dedicated to the physical, moral, and social well-being of women. Compiled from various sources, the volume asserts that true beauty arises when art complements nature, offering remedies for skin conditions like wrinkles, freckles, and rough hands while advocating for natural tonics over harmful cosmetics. The text provides detailed instructions for hair care, eye health, and dental hygiene, aiming to restore a rosy complexion and ensure brilliant eyes. A significant portion of the work addresses marriage, discussing the proper age for union and the necessity of temperamental compatibility. It warns against early marriage, arguing that the nervous force expended in youthful indulgence hinders the development of physical and mental faculties. The book advises that men should marry between twenty-one and twenty-five, while women should wait until eighteen to twenty-one. It further suggests that happy marriages often occur between individuals of contrasting temperaments, such as a melancholy man and a sprightly woman, to prevent monotony and ensure mutual growth. The volume offers extensive guidance on pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum care. It describes signs of pregnancy, remedies for ailments like morning sickness, and provides a specific recipe for 'Parturient Balm' to ease labor. The text normalizes childbirth as a natural process that can be accomplished with comparative ease and safety. It also covers menstruation, the 'change of life,' and conditions like chlorosis, providing simple, safe remedies for ailments ranging from kidney trouble to nervous disorders. Beyond personal health, the book explores sexual morality in a chaste manner, explaining the laws and conditions of sexual intercourse to prevent the nervous ailments and premature aging caused by ignorance or abuse. It includes practical household information, such as recipes for foods, cleaning agents, and treatments for common emergencies like poisoning and bedbugs. Ultimately, the work aims to educate women on their duties, presenting a detailed view of female physiology and social conduct to empower them with knowledge previously unavailable in a single volume.

LLM editorial rating

3.5/5

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https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/26368.epub.noimages

Local file path

data/epubs/pg26368.epub

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Downloaded at

2026-07-04 17:15 UTC

Categories

• Marriage
• Cooking
• Health
• Beauty
• Domestic Life
• Traditional Medicine