A collection of letters between mothers and daughters, from 1750 to the present, this book reveals the ways in which women through the ages have struggled to break free of constraints and defy society. With insights into the lives of the famous - Anne Sexton, Florence Nightingale, Vera Brittain, Queen Victoria and Sylvia Plath - as well as the unknown - housewives, construction workers, secretaries, political activists, teachers and scientists - this collection displays the vitality and restless, questioning spirit of all women.

Once in a while an extraordinary work appears that transcends the written word and speaks directly to our hearts. Letters to Our Daughters is such a book. A celebration of the bond between mother and daughter, these intimate and profoundly personal writings reach beyond ethnic, social, and economic boundaries to touch deeply at the heart of the human condition. With tenderness and pride and truths that resonate in all of us, each mother rejoices in the uniqueness of her daughter and desires for her a future filled with hope, strength, and self-worth. Letters to Our Daughters includes over forty letters and photos of mothers and daughters who share their courage and triumph, pain and loss, wisdom and love.

There are now many studies of family letters in Europe, but most of them focus on marital letters and letters between parents, especially mothers, and their sons. Little attention has been paid to the letters to and from daughters. This volume seeks to begin filling that gap by exploring the continuities and changes evident in the letters written between mothers and daughters over several centuries. Some of these changes reflect the history of letters and the ways that they were written and delivered, especially the move from the use of scribes and couriers in the medieval and early modern period, which made both the writing and reading of letters a public affair, to the use of pens and the situation in which letters were able to be written in private and read only by the person to whom they were addressed. But the letters also reveal the changing nature of the mother and daughter relationship, as the formal and more distant ties evident in the early period, in which dynastic and other matters were often more important to a mother than her daughter’s personal happiness, were replaced by closer and more intimate ties and a concern with particular personalities and individual needs. This book was originally published as a special issue of Women’s History Review.

They say little girls are made of sugar and spice and everything nice. That innocent baby in the cot will one day become a sister, a mother, a wife, a daughter-in-law. A girl's first—and sometimes final—teacher is her mother. From first steps to first kiss, marriage to motherhood, mothers are the coach and counsellor in every girl's life. In this collection curated by veteran editor and writer Theresa Tan, mothers write letters to their daughters who may one day become mothers themselves. At times hilarious, mostly brutally honest, these are no-holds-barred, one-sided conversations between moms and their girls: values to impart, mistakes to learn from, wisdom to pass on, confessions to make, gratitude to express. These letters will make you laugh, weep and hug your child. Includes notes on lipstick and taking care of your body; how to survive marriage (and divorce); stupid things never to do; making hard decisions; living life with passion; raising children and caring for aging parents; carrying on family traditions; focusing on what truly matters in life. Contributors include: Adlena Oh-Wong, Amy Poon, Ng Choong San, Cynthia Chew, Dawn Lee, Dawn Sim, Janet Goh, Jennifer Heng, Jenny Wee, Kalthum Ahmad, Karen Tan, Landy Chua-Moosa, Loretta Urquhart, Paige Parker, Petrina Kow, Sangeeta Mulchand, Shaan Moledina-Lim, Chiong Xiao Ting, Lin Xiuzhen, Yen Chua and Zalina Gazali