"In this lively and colorful book of
popular history, journalist Betsy Israel shines a
light on the old stereotypes that have stigmatized
single women for years and celebrates their
resourceful sense of spirit, enterprise, and
unlimited success in a world where it is no longer
unusual or unlikely to be unwed.
Drawing extensively on primary sources, including
private journals, newspaper stories, magazine
articles, advertisements, films, and other materials
from popular media, Israel paints remarkably vivid
portraits of single women -- and the way they were
perceived -- throughout the decades. From the
nineteenth-century spinsters, of New England to the
Bowery girls of New York City, from the 1920s
flappers to the 1940s working women of the war years
and the career girls of the 1950s and 1960s, single
women have fought to find and feel comfortable in
that room of their own. One need only look at
Bridget Jones and the Sex and the City gang to see
that single women still maintain an uneasy
relationship with the rest of society -- and yet
they radiate an aura of glamour and mystery in
popular culture."
