Public domain audiobook
Campaigns of Curiosity: Journalistic Adventures of an American Girl in London
Elizabeth Banks was an American journalist who, at about age 23, moved to London. While trying to break into English journalism and to keep the wolf from the door, she struck upon the idea of hiring out as a housemaid in some London household and writing about her experiences. Subsequently, she became a street sweeper, flower-seller, and a laundress. On the flip side, she advertised as an heiress and demonstrated how easy it was for a wealthy American to "buy a pedigree" and entry into the higher social circles. This book is her relation of these experiences.
These were her public-facing accounts. She gives a more personal, behind-the-scenes version in The Autobiography of a Newspaper Girl. - Summary by TriciaG
These were her public-facing accounts. She gives a more personal, behind-the-scenes version in The Autobiography of a Newspaper Girl. - Summary by TriciaG
LibriVox recordings are public domain in the United States; copyright status may differ elsewhere.
Chapters
- Chapter 1
Preface
15:04 - Chapter 2
In Cap and Apron: "Liberty" and "Independence"
14:38 - Chapter 3
In Cap and Apron: Seeking a Situation
22:53 - Chapter 4
In Cap and Apron: "Elizabeth Barrows," Housemaid
18:49 - Chapter 5
In Cap and Apron: Rough Places "Smoothed Over"
21:51 - Chapter 6
In Cap and Apron: Without a "Character"
24:37 - Chapter 7
In Cap and Apron: Parlourmaid to Mrs. Brownlow
23:01 - Chapter 8
In Cap and Apron: My Last Days in Service
21:40 - Chapter 9
In Cap and Apron: The Merits of Domestic Service
21:43 - Chapter 10
The "Almighty Dollar" in London Society: Advertising for a Chaperon
09:39 - Chapter 11
The "Almighty Dollar": Offers of Marriage
09:25 - Chapter 12
The "Almighty Dollar": What It would Cost
08:56 - Chapter 13
The "Almighty Dollar": Interesting Antecedents
06:00 - Chapter 14
The Price of a Pedigree
24:41 - Chapter 15
Sweeping a Crossing
16:27 - Chapter 16
A Day with the Flower-Girls
22:00 - Chapter 17
Among the Laundry-Girls: Why and How I Became One of Them
22:14 - Chapter 18
Among the Laundry-Girls: At Work in a "Sanitary Laundry"
17:13 - Chapter 19
Among the Laundry-Girls: A Contest with Flat-Irons
17:58 - Chapter 20
Among the Laundry-Girls: The Day of My Resignation
19:06 - Chapter 21
Among the Laundry-Girls: "Soap-Suds Island" and the East-End
20:45