Editorial Content for Madame Restell: The Life, Death, and Resurrection of Old New York’s Most Fabulous, Fearless, and Infamous Abortionist
Contributors
Reviewer (text)
Jennifer Wright has brought to fresh view and consideration the life of Madame Restell, whose success and power were built on one of life’s tragedies --- unwanted pregnancies.
The “madame” of the book’s focus was not a grand lady of French origin, as she wished her customers and social cohorts to believe, but a poor immigrant from England who arrived in New York after a harrowing voyage in 1831. Ann Trow was burdened by her daughter, Caroline, since childcare for the poor was virtually unheard of, but she managed to eke out a living as a seamstress. A widow, her true skills and intelligence came to the fore in her second marriage when she and her husband, newspaperman Charles Lohman, developed and advertised a trade in drugs to induce abortion.
"Restell’s life story encompasses subject matter that has much to teach, and Wright provides diligent, thoughtful research to make that possible."
Madame Restell, as Ann styled herself, claimed to have learned a physician’s skill in France. Soon she was aiding women in ending their pregnancies and thus gained a reputation. Men, who controlled women and the law, might have a pregnant mistress for whom a child would be inconvenient or scandalous. Women sought her services for a plethora of reasons, including the lack of income that resulted from motherhood. Restell and her husband manufactured herbal pills that almost always would result in the termination of a pregnancy, and she was able to perform surgical abortions when needed. As a noted practitioner in her field, she garnered a large following, a grand wardrobe and a mansion.
But Restell was not immune from harsh criticism, landed in court on a number of occasions and served time in prison. Though some who objected to her business were religious conservatives, many of her most vociferous critics were men who were not so much appalled by her chosen profession as they were threatened by the notion of allowing a woman the right to freedom of choice --- any choice.
Wright has vividly and thoroughly revived the dark story of Madame Restell, an undeniably powerful entrepreneur who rose from seemingly hopeless poverty by exercising her innate abilities, excelling and enjoying the fruits of her labors. She examines the thorny issue of abortion from numerous angles, treating it deftly. Restell’s life story encompasses subject matter that has much to teach, and Wright provides diligent, thoughtful research to make that possible.
Teaser
An industrious immigrant who built her business from the ground up, Madame Restell was a self-taught surgeon on the cutting edge of healthcare in pre-Gilded Age New York. Her bustling “boarding house” provided birth control, abortions and medical assistance to thousands of women --- rich and poor alike. Unfortunately for Madame Restell, her rise to the top of her field coincided with a campaign to curtail women’s power by restricting their access to both healthcare and careers of their own. By unraveling the misogynistic and misleading lies that put women’s lives in jeopardy, Jennifer Wright simultaneously restores Restell to her rightful place in history and obliterates the faulty reasoning underlying the very foundation of what has since been dubbed the “pro-life” movement.
Promo
An industrious immigrant who built her business from the ground up, Madame Restell was a self-taught surgeon on the cutting edge of healthcare in pre-Gilded Age New York. Her bustling “boarding house” provided birth control, abortions and medical assistance to thousands of women --- rich and poor alike. Unfortunately for Madame Restell, her rise to the top of her field coincided with a campaign to curtail women’s power by restricting their access to both healthcare and careers of their own. By unraveling the misogynistic and misleading lies that put women’s lives in jeopardy, Jennifer Wright simultaneously restores Restell to her rightful place in history and obliterates the faulty reasoning underlying the very foundation of what has since been dubbed the “pro-life” movement.
About the Book
Discover the true story of a self-taught surgeon and trailblazing figure in medical history --- Madame Restsell, a revolutionary surgeon who fought for women's rights and healthcare in Gilded Age New York.
An industrious immigrant who built her business from the ground up, Madame Restell was a self-taught surgeon on the cutting edge of healthcare in pre-Gilded Age New York, and her bustling “boarding house” provided birth control, abortions, and medical assistance to thousands of women --- rich and poor alike. As her practice expanded, her notoriety swelled, and Restell established her-self as a prime target for tabloids, threats and lawsuits galore. But far from fading into the background, she defiantly flaunted her wealth, parading across the city in designer clothes, expensive jewelry and bejeweled carriages, rubbing her success in the faces of the many politicians, publishers, fellow physicians and religious figures determined to bring her down.
Unfortunately for Madame Restell, her rise to the top of her field coincided with “the greatest scam you’ve never heard about” --- the campaign to curtail women’s power by restricting their access to both healthcare and careers of their own. Powerful, secular men --- threatened by women’s burgeoning independence --- were eager to declare abortion sinful, a position endorsed by newly minted male MDs who longed to edge out their feminine competition and turn medicine into a standardized, male-only practice. By unraveling the misogynistic and misleading lies that put women’s lives in jeopardy, Wright simultaneously restores Restell to her rightful place in history and obliterates the faulty reasoning underlying the very foundation of what has since been dubbed the “pro-life” movement.
Thought-provoking, character-driven, boldly written and feminist as hell, MADAME RESTELL is required reading for anyone and everyone who believes that when it comes to women’s rights, women’s bodies and women’s history, women should have the last word.
Audiobook available, read by Mara Wilson
