A Midwife's Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard, Based on Her Diary, 1785-1812 |
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You Are Here: Home > History Books > Connecticut History > Item 26
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A Midwife's Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard, Based on Her Diary, 1785-1812
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by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
Sales Rank: 14969
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List Price: $15.95
$10.85
At Amazon
on 10-15-2008.
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Features
Cover Type: Paperback with 464 pages
Published by: Vintage June 4, 1991
Written in: English
ISBN 10 Number: 0679733760
ISBN 13 Number: 978-0679733768
Book Dimensions:
8 x 5.3 x 1 inches
Weighs: 1.2 pounds
From Publishers Weekly
The diary of a midwife and herbalist reveals the prevalence of violence, crime and premarital sex in rural 18th-century New England. "Fleshing out this midwife's bare entries with interpretive essays . . . Ulrich marvelously illuminates women's status, the history of medicine and daily life in the early Republic," said PW . Illustrated.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
This book is a model of social history at its best. An exegesis of Ballard's diary, it recounts the life and times of this unusual Maine housewife and midwife. Using passages from the diary as a starting point for each chapter division, Ulrich, a professor at the University of New Hampshire, demonstrates how the seemingly trivial details of Ballard's daily life reflect and relate to prominent themes in the history of the early republic: the role of women in the economic life of the community, the nature of marriage and sexual relations, the scope of medical knowledge and practice. Speculating on why Ballard kept the diary as well as why her family saved it, Ulrich highlights the document's usefulness for historians.
- Marie Marmo Mullaney, Caldwell Coll., N.J.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Reader Reviews
Laura Ulrich rewrites history, using an overlooked diary written by a midwife 200 years ago. In 1928, Virginia Woolf (in A Room of One's Own)complained they we don't know how women in the past spent their time. We don't, and it's extraordinary how much a little bit of information about these women can change the way we think about society, women and history. The brilliance of this book lies in its ordinariness. Martha Ballard's life is not described in such detail because of anything she did that was unusual or exceptional. She was an ordinary women who worked hard and raised her family like so many have done. No, the fascination comes from the fact that such women (and their impact on society and social change) are usually invisible to us. Sometimes, as a modern woman, I find it hard not to despise many of the women you read about in history books: pathetic, passive, ignorant, helpless, victims, or Great Heroines. Martha Ballard is just like a woman we might know today: bossy, sensible, often (I would imagine) fairly stubborn. She had great influence on the society in which she lived. It's a mistake to think that this book is only for feminists or history buffs(as some have written) just because it's about a woman. It involves a qualitative shift in the way we think about history, and as such it demands our respect. This is one of the most important books I have read for years, and I can't recommend it highly enough.
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A Midwife's Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard, Based on Her Diary, 1785-1812
Available from Amazon
Price: $10.85
Updated on 10-15-2008.
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