A non-fiction work by the author of "Uncle Tom’s Cabin", exploring the position of the American household from the second part of the 19th century. Stressing the inevitable aftermath of the Civil War, Stowe discusses the changes that occurred within the once homely, comfortable household as the heart of every family. Talking on subjects like "Homekeeping vs. Housekeeping", "Economy", "Home Religion" or "Is Woman a Worker?", Stowe is pointing at the complexities of life in the after-war period for women and housewives.

A thorn in the angry and embittered eyes of the American South, Harriet Beecher Stowe was an American author and ardent abolitionist, whose most famous novel "Uncle Tom’s Cabin" became the fiercest attack on slavery at the time. Stowe’s influence steps across the boundaries of the literary, and enters the domain of the political, opening the eyes of the world towards the horrors of slavery. She also wrote travel memoirs, numerous articles, letters, and short stories.