WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A MOTHER IN THE PAST? When distinguished historian Sarah Knott became pregnant, she posed this question to herself. However, she struggled to find records related to motherhood. For centuries, historians have focused on topics such as wars, political developments, and revolutions, but the details of daily care for an infant leave them indifferent. Many aspects of motherhood, both past and present, are overlooked or forgotten.

Drawing from her own experience—from miscarriage to pregnancy, childbirth, and the infancy of her two children—Sarah Knott explores the ever-changing experience of motherhood over the last few centuries. By gathering evidence from a diverse collection of documents—unfinished letters, hurried diary entries, court records, and a figure in a painting—this book rescues and revives the lost stories of ordinary women, ordinary mothers.

From the agonies of a slave on the plantations of South Carolina to the triumphant smile of the king's mistress who has conceived the heir to the throne; from the suburban housewife of the 1950s to the worker who goes to the factory with her baby; from the settler in the Wild West with eight children to the 1970s feminist fighting for her right to decide whether to have children, Mothers composes a poignant picture of motherhood.

THEY WROTE ABOUT THE BOOK

Heartbreaking. It grips you from beginning to end. Diane Atkinson, author

It made me cry uncontrollably... The provocative power of social history stems from her exceptional ability as a writer and storyteller. Spectator

A moving yet enlightening reflection on the most fundamental and yet constantly evolving bond between people. Fara Dabhoiwala, author