Despite the fact that respectability is universally recognized as a feature of nineteenth-century society, it has seldom been studied as a subject in itself. This book is a path-breaking interpretation of respectability as a cultural phenomenon in its own right, constructed in the public spheres of Europe and the Americas in response to undesirable aspects of modernity, and eventually becoming an aspect of social life throughout the world.

Woodruff D. Smith is Professor of History Emeritus at the University of Massachusetts Boston and Senior Research Fellow, Institute for Historical Study, University of Texas at Austin.

1. Introduction First Section: Respectability as Map 2. Identity: The Self-respecting Self 3. Practice: Moral Competence 4. Distinction: Class, Gender and Moral Standing Second Section: Respectability as Discourse 5. Performance 6. Humanity and the Discourse of Respectability: Mother, Family and Civilization 7. Power 8. What Happened to Respectability?