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Ungovernable

By: Therese Oneill
Narrated by: Dara Rosenberg, Betsy Foldes Meiman
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Summary

From the author of the "hysterically funny and unsettlingly fascinating"* New York Times best seller Unmentionable, a hilarious illustrated guide to the secrets of Victorian child-rearing [*Jenny Lawson]

Feminist historian Therese Oneill is back, to educate you on what to expect when you're expecting...a Victorian baby! In Ungovernable, Oneill conducts an unforgettable tour through the backward, pseudoscientific, downright bizarre parenting fashions of the Victorians, advising us on:

  • How to be sure you're not too ugly, sickly, or stupid to breed
  • What positions and room decor will help you conceive a son
  • How much beer, wine, cyanide, and heroin to consume while pregnant
  • How to select the best peasant teat for your child
  • Which foods won't turn your children into sexual deviants
  • And so much more

Endlessly surprising, wickedly funny, and filled with juicy historical tidbits and images, Ungovernable provides much-needed perspective on - and comic relief from - the age-old struggle to bring up baby.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2019 Therese Oneill (P)2019 Hachette Audio
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History
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Critic reviews

"An entertaining look at Victorian-era parenting advice...Oneill's irreverent guide is a reality check for those who might romanticize the era of strict self-discipline and unchallenged parental authority." (The Washington Post)

"This wild ride through 19th-century child-rearing is an exploration of anal worms, strange tinctures, inappropriate education, child labor, and questionable food stuffs. Readers will learn the altogether shocking practices of Victorian parenthood-and be reminded that people did live to tell the tale.... The author's breezy style strikes an amusing and marked contrast with the subject matter, which hopefully keeps readers focused on their successes as modern, enlightened parents-which the Victorians also considered themselves, a fact that is slyly related in delicious irony. While Oneill will likely not supplant Spock and Brazelton, she may well set parents at ease in her own hilarious way." (Booklist)

"Unmentionable transports us back to the world of middle-class 19th-century women, with special emphasis on the messy details that costume dramas airbrush out.... With a 4-year-old's scatological glee, Oneill details the logistics of old-time peeing, pooping, gestating, menstruating and mating... Oneill has dug up some lovely tidbits from the dustbin of history." (New York Times)

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