After his new wife’s premature death in 1797 following the birth of her second, and their first child Mary, William Godwin wrote Memoirs of the Author of The Vindication of the Rights of Women in 1798. Read along with me the final chapter in which he documents the ten days […]
In part one of this series, I covered the reproductive history and childcare strategies of Jane Austen’s parents. In this part, I will show that Jane’s attitudes about marriage were shaped– not by her desire to become a published author– but by her observations of motherhood, particularly the physiological and […]
Check out An Address to Pregnant Women at the Wellcome Collection
I am still working on part two of the Jane Austen series so I thought this week I would do a read along video for one of the primary sources I used for part one. This is William Cadogan’s letter to the governors of the Foundling Hospital in London, published […]
This is the first of a two parter exploring the life and times of Jane Austen with relation to pregnancy birth and mothering. In this series I combine the popular culture, scientific developments and politics, along with the family’s letters and Jane’s novels to gain a better understanding of what […]
It’s not often that we hear about ghost stories with infants as the protagonists, I’ve heard a couple (the disembodied crying baby or weirdness with baby monitors), but usually, if it’s a halfling ghost, it’ll be a child. But that wasn’t the case in Needham, Massachusetts in 1839– Just past […]
Today we’ll be looking at the evolving understanding of sudden infant death in history, focusing on the developments in the United States during the 20th century. Content Warning: This post will discuss sudden infant death, infanticide, and child abuse. If you know that you are uncomfortable with this subject manner […]
Today we’re looking at baby carriers in William Hogarth’s The March of the Guards to Finchley from 1750. The March of the Guards to Finchley, depicts a fictional troop of buffoonish British troops in Tottenham Court Road, in London, on their way to fight the Jacobean forces in the uprising […]
Rani Lakshmibai, also know as Rani of Jhansi, has inspired countless works of art featuring her charging into battle on horseback with a baby on her back. In this video, we learn more about her life and what led to the famous scene.
This painting by Jan Steen features common baby accessories from the 17th century: teethers, falling caps, and leading strings:
