Democratic Underground - Hey Bobbie! Yes, she pretty much does.

Look her up on Amazon. Himmelfarb's Big Idea is "a return to the BEST of the Victorian Era."

That seems to include the following and much more: iron-clad morals established by a rigidly stratified society. Private charity given from the good hearts of the rich. A strong "moral leader." Etc.

Proper academic jargon? Oh, you bet! Like her stable-mate Ann Coulter, Himmelfarb writes with heavy foot-noting, backed up by plenty of facts and figures to "prove" her assumptions.

Here's a pretty objective Amazon review:

Himmelfarb uses her Victorian books as propaganda to show how removed today's "values" are from our ancestor's "virtues."

Her weak link here is in documenting the damage such change has wrecked on our current social scene, although she makes brief references.

Her idealistic take on the Victorians shows them as models of excellence, charitable, hardworking, bonded, intelligent, and responsible, without dwelling on the negative aspects of industrialism, ethnocentrism, or racial and sexual discrimination.

Still, the wealth of facts she has accumulated is invaluable if one does not get caught up in her conservative rantings and broad assumptions. Can we return to the best that the Victorian era offered? Himmelfarb makes it clear that this would be impossible without an organized society and a strong moral leader who could "lay back and think of England!"

Reply #32: Hey Bobbie! Yes, she pretty much does. [View All]