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The Irish Bridget: Irish Immigrant Women in Domestic Service in America, 1840-1930
Margaret Lynch-Brennan
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"Bridget" was the Irish immigrant servant girl who worked in American homes from the second half of the nineteenth century into the early years of the twentieth. She is widely known as a pop culture cliché: the young girl who wreaked havoc in middle-class American homes. Now, in the first book-length treatment of the topic, Margaret Lynch-Brennan tells the real story of such Irish domestic servants, providing a richly detailed portrait of their lives and experiences. Drawing on personal correspondence and other primary sources, Lynch-Brennan gives voice to these young Irish women and celebrates their untold contribution to the ethnic history of the United States. In addition, recognizing the interest of scholars in contemporary domestic service, she devotes one chapter to comparing "Bridget's" experience to that of other ethnic women over time in domestic service in America.
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Cover Page
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Title Page
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Copyright Page
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Dedication
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Contents
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Illustrations
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Foreword
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Preface
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Introduction
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1. Home Life in Ireland
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2. From Ireland
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3. To America
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4. The World of the American Mistress
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5. The Work World of the Irish Bridget
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6. The Social World of the Irish Bridget
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7. Was Bridget’s Experience Unique?
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Epilogue
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Works Cited
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Index
Citable Link
Published: 2014
Publisher: Syracuse University Press
- 978-0-8156-5267-0 (ebook)
- 978-0-8156-3354-9 (paper)
- 978-0-8156-3201-6 (hardcover)