A Day in the Life of a Colonial Innkeeper

Describes the life of a colonial Massachusetts innkeeper, including his daily work, the rules he had to follow, and life in his town.

Reviewed with Kathy Wilmore's A Day in the Life of a Colonial Wigmaker.

Gr. 3-5. Each of these little books from the Library of Living and Working in Colonial Times series gives a lightly fictionalized account of a vocation in Colonial America. In Innkeeper, Mr and Mrs. Watkins and their servants light the fires, cook the food, mind the horses in the stable, clean the guest chambers, and obey the laws about how much they can charge their guests. In Wig maker, Mr. Hawkins, along with his apprentice and journeyman, shave the customers, measure their heads for skullcaps, prepare the hair, stitch it to the caps, and powder the finished wigs. The text appears in large print on one page, facing a full-page illustration, usually a period print or painting. The use of pictures from many sources is not a great success. Innkeepe r, in particular, is visually disconcerting because several different inns are shown in pictures that vary greatly in style. The characters, of course, do not follow through from one illustration to the next. Appendixes include a short list of Web sites and a glossary. For excellence in text, illustration, and design, Leonard Everett Fisher's Colonial Craftsmen series is unquestionably the best available resource in this subject area. Still, libraries seeking additional material may want to consider this series. Carolyn Phelan
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