I bought this book last year with great enthusiasm. I collect books on beauty, the home, crafts and femininity, and this book is obviously a good addition to my collection.
As for content, though, I am not sure I liked it so much. It's very interesting, and has all the ways to make your own flour, cheese, your own soap, and excellent instructions on sewing.
However, all this advice is not too practical nowadays. I don't know, for some reason I couldn't finish The Lost Arts -- it seems to me that it addresses itself only to people with plenty of extra time in their hands. In other words, the intended audience of the book is quite limited.
Plus (though this may just be my impression) it seems to imply that taking care of the home is a woman's job. My view, as a woman, a feminist and a human being, is that all humans, men and women, ought to care for their home and their offspring. Gendered divisions of labor are unacceptable.
On the positive side, the information is rich, the edition is nice, with good quality paper and nice fonts. The book probably succeeds in its purpose to save lost domestic arts for posterity.
I wish you all a lovely Sunday evening, with beauty always with you! xxx
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