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Advice books Digital Collection

Well before the nineteenth century, advice or conduct literature was among the commonest type of book to be found in most households. As such, they constitute a prime source for research on the period in which they were produced and used. Conduct literature aims at defining and prescribing the relative roles and duties of men and women, and developing boys and girls. Covering manners and morals, questions of household management and advice on what to read, children's education and the treatment of servants, dealing with fashion and leisure as well as with religious meditation and sexual conduct, conduct books shift in the cultural perception of the modern individual. As is increasingly recognized, they have a great research interest for anyone reconstructing and exploring the cultural formation of national, class and gender identities. In particular, they reflect changing precepts of behavior for men and women as conflicting religious ideologies and the rise of capitalism made their impact on the formation of civic society and the modern family unit.

In the first half of the nineteenth century, conduct literature flourished. According to many recent studies, the antebellum era was a period of middle class solidification and one in which conduct literature flourished, producing more than a hundred new works between 1820 and 1860. There continues to be some disagreement as to the centrality of children in this development. Some scholars contend that much of this literature was targeting adults, but as this collection shows there was a component of it aimed at youth attempting to negotiate the new social, political, and economic forces. These how-to books as frequently as not revealed attempts to reconcile Christian doctrine and dogma with everyday life, and they also address a host of contemporary issues.

—Stephen Rachman, Department of English, Michigan State University

Items in the Advice books collection:
Title	Publisher	Author	Description	Available Format(s)
Christian Education: Containing Valuable Practical Suggestions in the Training of Children for Usefulness and Heaven	New York: American Tract Society, 18--?	Hadduck, Rev. Charles B.	unknown or unavailable	jpg
Early Piety	New York: John S. Taylor, 1834	Abbott, Rev. Jacob	unknown or unavailable	jpg
Easy Lessons for the Little Ones at Home	New York: American Tract Society, 18--?	Author Unknown	unknown or unavailable	jpg
Friendly Hints to the Young	[New York]: American Tract Society, 18--?	Author Unknown	unknown or unavailable	jpg
Lectures to Children, Familiarly Illustrating Important Truth	Northampton: J. H. Butler, 1838	Todd, John	unknown or unavailable	jpg
Life In Earnest; or, Christian Activity and Ardour Illustrated and Commended	Philadelphia: American Sunday-School Union, 1845	Hamilton, James	unknown or unavailable	jpg
My Son's Book.	New York: F.W. Bradley & Co. Sastor House, 1839	Author Unknown	unknown or unavailable	jpg
The Child at Home	New York: American Tract Society, 1833	Abbott, John S. C.	unknown or unavailable	jpg
The Mother at Home; or The Principles of Maternal Duty	New York: American Tract Society, 1833	Abbott, John S. C.	unknown or unavailable	jpg
The Spring-Time of Life; or, Advice to Youth	New York: American Tract Society, 1855	Magie, Rev. David	unknown or unavailable	jpg
The Young Man's Counsellor; or, Sketches and Illustrations of the Duties of Young Men	New York: Carlton & Philips, 1853	Wise, Rev. Daniel	unknown or unavailable	jpg
Wise Sayings for the Young	Boston, Mass.: Sabbath School Society, 1839.	Author Unknown	unknown or unavailable	jpg