How to Do It

This cornucopia of information, most of it surprisingly sensible, some of it hilarious, and only parts of it outright quackery, has been culled from 16th century Italian advice manuals intended for middle class readers about how men and women should behave towards on another. From the tricky moment of conception through pregnancy and birth, (no proper medication, anaesthetics, no forceps until the early 18th century) down the rocky road of adolescence and into the broad thoroughfare of marital relaitons, Professor Bell confidently guides us. Via the mass of detail and the insights into the workings of the Renaissance household, a picture of an entire society gradually emerges, showing us that, dspite the march of the centuries, human nature does not change very much. The great divide lies in the inequality of the sexes, It was the duty of men to rule and of women to obey, theoretically at least. Women were mothers and companions, no more. But the unevenness of this relationship doesn't necessarily mean unhappiness. One had to rule and one had to knuckle under, just as in a ship, a recurring metaphor in advice literature. There are numerous examples of satirical literature at the expense of women. Don't listen to women, writes Giuseppe Passi. There are plenty of men who did and they ended up dead. Think again if you believe Renaissance manuals must be primitive and out of date. The irresistable force of human nature battles it out with morality and etiquette. (Kirkus UK)