"On a dark night in 1775, Lizzie Boylston is awakened by the sound of cannons. From a hill south of Boston, she watches as fires burn in Charlestown, in a battle that she soon discovers has claimed her husband's life. Alone in a new town. Soon, word spreads of Lizzie's extraordinary midwifery and healing skills, and she begins to channel her grief into caring for those who need her." -- back cover.

The Midwife's Revolt takes the reader on a journey to the founding days of America. It follows one woman's path, Lizzie Boylston, from her grieving days of widowhood after Bunker Hill, to her deepening friendship with Abigail Adams and midwifery, and finally to her dangerous work as a spy for the Cause. A novel rich in historical detail, The Midwife's Revolt opens a window onto the real lives of colonial women."A charming, unexpected, and decidedly different view of the Revolutionary War." -- Publishers Weekly

A love affair tests a new nation's revolutionary ideals. In 1770s Boston, a prosperous merchant's daughter, Eliza Boylston, lives a charmed life--until war breaches the walls of the family estate and forces her to live in a world in which wealth can no longer protect her. As the chaos of the Revolutionary War tears her family apart, Eliza finds herself drawn to her uncle's slave, John Watkins. Their love leads to her exile in Braintree, Massachusetts, home to radicals John and Abigail Adams and Eliza's midwife sister-in-law, Lizzie Boylston. But even as the uprising takes hold, Eliza can't help but wonder whether a rebel victory will grant her and John the most basic of American rights.

PULITZER PRIZE WINNER • Drawing on the diaries of one woman in eighteenth-century Maine, "A truly talented historian unravels the fascinating life of a community that is so foreign, and yet so similar to our own" (The New York Times Book Review). Between 1785 and 1812 a midwife and healer named Martha Ballard kept a diary that recorded her arduous work (in 27 years she attended 816 births) as well as her domestic life in Hallowell, Maine. On the basis of that diary, Laurel Thatcher Ulrich gives us an intimate and densely imagined portrait, not only of the industrious and reticent Martha Ballard but of her society. At once lively and impeccably scholarly, A Midwife's Tale is a triumph of history on a human scale.

Building on a quarter century of scholarship following the publication of the groundbreaking Women in the Age of the American Revolution, the engagingly written essays in this volume offer an updated answer to the question, What was life like for women in the era of the American Revolution? The contributors examine how women dealt with years of armed conflict and carried on their daily lives, exploring factors such as age, race, educational background, marital status, social class, and region. For patriot women the Revolution created opportunities—to market goods, find a new social status within the community, or gain power in the family. Those who remained loyal to the Crown, however, often saw their lives diminished—their property confiscated, their businesses failed, or their sense of security shattered. Some essays focus on individuals (Sarah Bache, Phillis Wheatley), while others address the impact of war on social or commercial interactions between men and women. Patriot women in occupied Boston fell in love with and married British soldiers; in Philadelphia women mobilized support for nonimportation; and in several major colonial cities wives took over the family business while their husbands fought. Together, these essays recover what the Revolution meant to and for women.

This unorthodox biography explores the life of an extraordinary Enlightenment woman who, by sheer force of character, parlayed a skill in midwifery into a national institution. In 1759, in an effort to end infant mortality, Louis XV commissioned Madame Angélique Marguerite Le Boursier du Coudray to travel throughout France teaching the art of childbirth to illiterate peasant women. For the next thirty years, this royal emissary taught in nearly forty cities and reached an estimated ten thousand students. She wrote a textbook and invented a life-sized obstetrical mannequin for her demonstrations. She contributed significantly to France's demographic upswing after 1760. Who was the woman, both the private self and the pseudonymous public celebrity? Nina Rattner Gelbart reconstructs Madame du Coudray's astonishing mission through extensive research in the hundreds of letters by, to, and about her in provincial archives throughout France. Tracing her subject's footsteps around the country, Gelbart chronicles du Coudray's battles with finance ministers, village matrons, local administrators, and recalcitrant physicians, her rises in power and falls from grace, and her death at the height of the Reign of Terror. At a deeper level, Gelbart recaptures du Coudray's interior journey as well, by questioning and dismantling the neat paper trail that the great midwife so carefully left behind. Delightfully written, this tale of a fascinating life at the end of the French Old Regime sheds new light on the histories of medicine, gender, society, politics, and culture. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1998. This unorthodox biography explores the life of an extraordinary Enlightenment woman who, by sheer force of character, parlayed a skill in midwifery into a national institution. In 1759, in an effort to end infant mortality, Louis XV commissioned Madame An

A little girl goes missing from Yew Tree Manor - the same house from which a girl vanished decades before. Does the key to the present lie buried even deeper in the past, in the forgotten history of an innocent midwife accused by a family of shocking betrayal? A gripping, heartwrenching story of love, loyalty and family secrets. From the internationally bestselling author of THE GIRL IN THE LETTER. __________ It all began with a midwife's secret, long buried but if uncovered could save two families from the bitter tragedy that binds them. And prove the key that will free them all... 1969 On New Year's Eve, while the Hiltons of Yew Tree Manor prepare to host the party of the season, their little girl disappears. Suspicion falls on Bobby James, a young farmhand and the last person to see Alice before she vanished. Bobby protests his innocence, but he is sent away. Alice is never found. Present day Architect Willow James is working on a development at Yew Tree when she discovers the land holds a secret. As she begins to dig deep into the past, she uncovers a web of injustice. And when another child goes missing, Willow knows the only way to stop history repeating itself is to right a terrible wrong... ** EMILY GUNNIS'S NEW NOVEL THE GIRLS LEFT BEHIND IS AVAILABLE NOW ** ARE YOU READY TO DISCOVER THE MIDWIFE'S SECRET? READERS ARE SPELLBOUND: 'I can highly recommend this beautiful tale which is heartbreaking, emotional, gripping, suspenseful and will keep you on the edge of your seat' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Real reader review 'The Midwife's Secret is an unputdownable book that grips you from the beginning. Be prepared for plenty of tears throughout, right to the end' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Real reader review 'Wow! What a powerful book. This had me hooked from the start. The story spans generations and tells of lies, grief and secrets. It was extremely well written and had you guessing right to the end. Loved the characters and couldn't put this book down' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Real reader review 'This story grabbed a hold of me and sucked me in. It was highly captivating, dramatic and emotional . . . I literally could not turn the pages fast enough' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Real reader review 'A real heart-pounder! It had intrigue, suspense and lots of twists and turns!! Definitely some jaw-dropping moments! I highly recommend reading this book!' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Real reader review 'The story was stunning and heartbreaking. I went to bed at 2am! Can't wait for the next book' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Real reader review 'Spellbindingly good! Heartbreak, intrigue, mystery' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Real reader review