Conduct books or conduct literature is a

genre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other ...

of books that attempt to educate the reader on social norms and ideals. As a genre, they began in the mid-to-late Middle Ages, although antecedents such as ''

The Maxims of Ptahhotep ''The Maxims of Ptahhotep'' or ''Instruction of Ptahhotep'' is an ancient Egyptian literary composition composed by the Vizier Ptahhotep around 2375–2350 BC, during the rule of King Djedkare Isesi of the Fifth Dynasty. The text was discovered ...

'' (c. 2350 BC) are among the earliest surviving works. Conduct books remained popular through the 18th century, although they gradually declined with the advent of the

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

Overview

In the introduction to her bibliography of American conduct books published before 1900, Sarah E. Newton defines the conduct book as

a text that is intended for an inexperienced young adult or other youthful reader, that defines an ethical, Christian-based code of behavior, and that normally includes
gender role A gender role, also known as a sex role, is a social role encompassing a range of behaviors and attitudes that are generally considered acceptable, appropriate, or desirable for a person based on that person's sex. Gender roles are usually cen ...
definitions. Thus "conduct book" embraces those texts whose primary aim is to describe and define a basically Protestant scheme of life, morals, and behavior, in order to encourage ideal conduct in white, generally middle-class children, young men, or young women.

Conduct books do not deal exclusively with questions of

etiquette Etiquette () is the set of norms of personal behaviour in polite society, usually occurring in the form of an ethical code of the expected and accepted social behaviours that accord with the conventions and norms observed and practised by a ...

, but rather with the conduct of one's life in a broader, ethical sense. Conduct books are typically addressed to a specific audience but also to society more broadly, and address themes including moral education and

gender roles A gender role, also known as a sex role, is a social role encompassing a range of behaviors and attitudes that are generally considered acceptable, appropriate, or desirable for a person based on that person's sex. Gender roles are usually cente ...

. Their tone may be both admonitory and hortatory, instructing readers both on how to behave and how ''not'' to behave. The critic Nancy Armstrong argues that conduct books "represented a specific configuration of sexual features as those of the only appropriate woman for men at all levels of society to want as a wife", while also providing "people from diverse social groups with a basis for imagining economic interests in common." Armstrong argues that conduct books addressed readers who belonged neither to the aristocracy nor to the

working class The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colo ...

, thereby paradoxically targeting a

middle class The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. Co ...

audience that did not take shape until a later period—"a middle class that was not actually there."

United States

From the colonial period British and European conduct books were reprinted by American publishers and became popular; until the late 18th and early 19th centuries such imported volumes were the primary source of Americans' behavioral and moral guidance. American conduct books were addressed predominantly to middle-class readers and addressed middle-class concerns. Newton argues that these texts "reflected questions about gentility, right-doing, and manners, but more importantly questions about social identity and roles and how to live good and successful lives." A typical mid-19th-century conduct book for young women would deal with topics including women's responsibilities, domesticity and love of the home, religion, education, courtship and marriage, women's duties to their husbands and children, and "female qualities" such as cheerfulness, humility and submission; while a conduct book for young men of the same period would address themes including ambition, self-reliance, self-improvement, honesty, punctuality, choice of friends and marriage. In her study of American conduct books published between 1830 and 1860, Jane E. Rose argues that conduct books in this period "glorify Republican Motherhood and domesticity" by characterising the home as the appropriate sphere for women, as a tool for "fostering religion, uprightness, and virtue", and as "women's empire" through which women serve the nation by raising future leaders. Topics covered by conduct books in this period "might include domestic, religious, and wifely duties; advice on health and fashion; rules for dating, mental improvement, and education; the art of conversation and avoiding 'evil-speaking' and gossiping; and advice on fostering harmonious marital relationships." Rose argues that these books, which were aimed predominantly at middle-class white women, placed "certain limitations and restrictions upon women's autonomy, literacy, and educational and vocational opportunities." Popular 18th-century conduct books included

Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield, (22 September 169424 March 1773) was a British statesman, diplomat, and man of letters, and an acclaimed wit of his time. Early life He was born in London to Philip Stanhope, 3rd Earl of Che ...

's ''Letters to His Son'' (1774), John Gregory's ''

A Father's Legacy to His Daughters ''A Father's Legacy to his Daughters'' is a book, written by Dr John Gregory (1724 – 1773), Scottish physician, medical writer and moralist. Dr Gregory wrote ''A Father's Legacy to his Daughters'' after the death of his wife in 1761 to honour ...

'' (1774), Hester Chapone's ''Letters on the Improvement of the Mind'' (1773), William Kenrick's ''The Whole Duty of Woman'' (1753), and the

compendium A compendium (plural: compendia or compendiums) is a comprehensive collection of information and analysis pertaining to a body of knowledge. A compendium may concisely summarize a larger work. In most cases, the body of knowledge will concern a sp ...

''The Lady's Pocket Library'' (1792), published by Mathew Carey, which included selections by Hannah More,

Sarah, Lady Pennington Sarah, Lady Pennington, née Moore (c.1720, Bath, Somerset – August 1783, Fulmer),Anne-Thérèse de Marguenat de Courcelles and

Jonathan Swift Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745) was an Anglo-Irish satirist, author, essayist, political pamphleteer (first for the Whigs, then for the Tories), poet, and Anglican cleric who became Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, ...

. In the 19th century, popular conduct books included

Henry Ward Beecher Henry Ward Beecher (June 24, 1813 – March 8, 1887) was an American Congregationalist clergyman, social reformer, and speaker, known for his support of the abolition of slavery, his emphasis on God's love, and his 1875 adultery trial. His r ...

's ''Lectures to Young Men'' (1844), William Alcott's ''The Young Man's Guide'' (1834), ''The Young Wife'', ''The Young Woman's Guide to Excellence'', ''The Boy's Guide to Usefulness'', and ''Familiar Letters to Young Men on Various Subjects'',

Lydia Sigourney Lydia Huntley Sigourney (September 1, 1791 – June 10, 1865), ''née'' Lydia Howard Huntley, was an American poet, author, and publisher during the early and mid 19th century. She was commonly known as the "Sweet Singer of Hartford." She had a ...

's ''Moral Pieces in Prose and Verse'' (1815), ''How to Be Happy'' (1833) and ''Letters to Young Ladies'' (1833), Harvey Newcomb's ''A Practical Directory for Young Christian Females'', ''The Young Lady's Guide to the Harmonious Development of Christian Character'', ''How to Be a Man'', ''Anecdotes for Girls'', ''How to Be a Lady'' and ''Anecdotes for Boys'', and Timothy Shay Arthur's ''Advice to Young Ladies on Their Duties and Conduct in Life'' (1848) and its companion volume ''Advice to Young Men on Their Duties and Conduct in Life'' (1848).

Significance

Newton argues that conduct books

have promoted political ends; they have aesthetically influenced female characterization and plot development in early American as well as English novels; and they have certainly helped perpetuate traditional American views about female place and roles that emerged, in Barbara Welter's phrase, as the "
Cult of True Womanhood The Culture of Domesticity (often shortened to Cult of Domesticity) or Cult of True Womanhood is a term used by historians to describe what they consider to have been a prevailing value system among the upper and middle classes during the 19th cen ...
."

Armstrong argues that because conduct books appeared to have no political bias, the rules codified in them "took on the power of

natural law Natural law ( la, ius naturale, ''lex naturalis'') is a system of law based on a close observation of human nature, and based on values intrinsic to human nature that can be deduced and applied independently of positive law (the express enacted ...

"; and that as a result "they presented—in actuality, still present—readers with ideology in its most powerful form." Elsewhere Armstrong and Leonard Tennenhouse argue that "Of the means which European culture has developed to create and regulate desire, conduct books for women and certain other form of writing now known as literature offer us the clearest examples", and go on to argue that "the production of specific forms of desire has created and maintained specific forms of political authority".

Notes

References

Literary Encyclopedia: Conduct BookReview of ''The Crisis of Courtesy: Studies in the Conduct-Book in Britain, 1600–1900'' by Jacques Carre
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Publications