Boardinghouse Women - by Elizabeth S D Engelhardt

About the Book

"... Elizabeth Engelhardt argues that modern American food, business, caretaking, politics, sex, travel, writing, and restaurants all owe a debt to boardinghouse women in the South. From the eighteenth century well into the twentieth, entrepreneurial women ran boardinghouses throughout the South; some also carried the institution to far-flung places like California, New York, and London. Owned and operated by Black, Jewish, Native American, and white women, rich and poor, immigrant and native-born, these lodgings were often hubs of business innovation and engines of financial independence for their owners. Within their walls, boardinghouse residents and owners developed the region's earliest printed cookbooks, created space for making music and writing literary works, formed ad hoc communities of support, tested boundaries of race and sexuality, and more. Engelhardt draws on a vast archive to recover boardinghouse women's stories, revealing what happened in the kitchens, bedrooms, hallways, back stairs, and front porches as well as behind closed doors--legacies still with us today"--

Book Synopsis

In this innovative and insightful book, Elizabeth Engelhardt argues that modern American food, business, caretaking, politics, sex, travel, writing, and restaurants all owe a debt to boardinghouse women in the South. From the eighteenth century well into the twentieth, entrepreneurial women ran boardinghouses throughout the South; some also carried the institution to far-flung places like California, New York, and London. Owned and operated by Black, Jewish, Native American, and white women, rich and poor, immigrant and native-born, these lodgings were often hubs of business innovation and engines of financial independence for their owners. Within their walls, boardinghouse residents and owners developed the region's earliest printed cookbooks, created space for making music and writing literary works, formed ad hoc communities of support, tested boundaries of race and sexuality, and more.

Engelhardt draws on a vast archive to recover boardinghouse women's stories, revealing what happened in the kitchens, bedrooms, hallways, back stairs, and front porches as well as behind closed doors--legacies still with us today.

Review Quotes

"Boardinghouse Women is thick with historical details, re-creating a lost world. One, Engelhardt argues, that may return as increasing numbers of Americans require assisted living."--Wilmington StarNews

"Engelhardt has assembled scores of . . . examples where ambitious or desperate women struggled to make their boardinghouse business successful [and] how the boardinghouse experiences of women had an impact on the typical foods that we today call southern."--D.G. Martin, Chapelboro.com

"Engelhardt identifies common threads in the lives of boardinghouse keepers and their guests that make these spaces worth thinking about. . . . The book is full of interesting characters who help her make the case that boardinghouses were fertile sites to challenge tradition as well as to eat and sleep."--Register of the Kentucky Historical Society

"Engelhardt masterfully brings to life the personal stories of boardinghouse women, ranging from enslaved cooks to owners whose boardinghouses became politically significant spaces in Washington, DC. Her attention to detail and the rich historical context she provides underscore the extensive research that went into this project and help her to successfully convey her argument. . . . [A] valuable resource for readers interested in women's history, the history of food, southern culture, or the history of boardinghouses themselves. Engelhardt's ability to combine these different aspects of history makes the book an insightful addition to upper-level undergraduate and graduate courses."--Journal of American Ethnic History

"Engelhardt meticulously examines the experiences of women in Southern boardinghouses, illuminating the myriad ways in which these establishments fulfilled economic and social functions and contributed to shaping American culture through innovation. . . . This scholarly and engaging work contributes significantly to research in women's history, gender studies, African American studies, Southern foodways, and the American South. It is suitable for inclusion in both public and academic libraries."--North Carolina Libraries

"Fascinating [and] well-researched. . . . Engelhardt expertly invokes the spirit of boardinghouse keepers in modern cultural phenomena, such as pop-up kitchens and assisted living facilities. Highly recommended for all history and women's studies collections."--Library Journal

"Gracefully written. . . . Engelhardt unearths the experiences of many women, across lines of class and race, who found not only financial security but personal gratification as 'boardinghouse women'. . . . [R]eaders of this journal have much to learn from Boardinghouse Women and will enjoy that process of learning."--Gender & History

"Historians can gain useful knowledge from [Engelhardt's] analysis of how boardinghouses provided alternatives to domesticity and marriage for southern women. . . . The book gives us an appreciation for the undervalued labor that makes intellectual work possible in both past and present."--Journal of Southern History

"Well researched, and the author uses an impressive wealth of sources. . . . [Engelhardt] effectively demonstrates how Southern boardinghouses were important in establishing Southern cuisine and provided a place of refuge in a sometimes threatening society."--Southeastern Librarian

"Wonderfully readable. . . . For those interested in an overlooked aspect of history and how it reacts with and shapes the times, Boardinghouse Women might just whet your appetite."--Mississippi Clarion-Ledger

About the Author

Elizabeth S. D. Engelhardt is Kenan Eminent Professor of Southern Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.