Within the Plantation Household: Black and White Women of the Old South (Gender and American Culture)

Within the Plantation Household: Black and White Women of the Old South
By Elizabeth Fox-Genovese

This landmark work of women's and Southern history examines the lives of Black and white women who lived and labored within the households of the antebellum South. Moving beyond simplified narratives, Elizabeth Fox-Genovese explores how the plantation household functioned as both a domestic and economic world — and how the relationships within it were shaped by the intertwined forces of race, class, and gender.

Drawing on diaries, letters, memoirs, and slave narratives, the book contrasts the experiences of enslaved Black women with those of the plantation mistresses they served, revealing the deep inequalities and complex human dynamics that bound their lives together. Rather than portraying a shared "sisterhood," Fox-Genovese argues that the realities of slavery created a world in which the interests and experiences of these women were fundamentally divided.

A foundational text in the study of Southern history, gender, and slavery, this book remains essential reading for students and scholars seeking to understand the social fabric of the Old South. The thoughtfully designed cover pairs period photographs of a Black and a white woman, reflecting the book's central focus on their distinct yet interconnected lives.