ABSTRACT
One of the most enduring stories about the past is that families were always close-knit and loving, and that it was typical for three generations – grandparents, parents, and children – to happily and harmoniously co-exist around a single family fire. The Remembrances of Elizabeth Freke, 1671–1714 , is an account of one old gentlewoman, a mother and grandmother, who was usually neglected by her husband, son, and grandson. As a result, she grew increasingly frustrated and bitter. After having nursed her husband through a long illness before his death in 1706, she lived out her final years in ill health and at the hands of thieving servants. Elizabeth’s family relations were a far cry from that warm and loving fireplace scene of our imaginations. As a gentlewoman, Elizabeth was wealthy enough to be able to hire servants to do what her family would not, but she knew, too, that she was at her servants’ mercy.
