‘Deeply researched, smart, poignant, and witty.’ — Karen Bloom Gevirtz, author of The Apothecary’s Wife

Women have been fighting for control over their bodies for thousands of years. From Neolithic hunter-gatherers to the reversal of Roe v. Wade, this is their story.

Acclaimed cultural historian Lucy Inglis takes the reader on an epic journey through the stories of women over hundreds of thousands of years. From ancient Mesopotamian birthing practices to the lost contraceptives of Ancient Rome and the strange story of the feminists who fought for the right to forget childbirth, this is a truly sweeping history that explores the competing ideologies and lived realities that have shaped so many lives.

Lucy Inglis charts the battle for control throughout history over reproduction, birth and women’s bodies – a fight still raging in many places across the world. With birth rates falling and infant mortality in many societies on the rise once more, this bold and timely book raises vital questions about how we think about motherhood and pregnancy today. Lucy Inglis has spent over a decade researching the history of childbirth, drawing on new and unseen sources from a wide-ranging array of disciplines.

Charting the powerful interests and dedicated scientists that have shaped women’s maternal experiences, this is a must-read for anyone who wishes to understand how we all came to be here.

Travel back to the Georgian years, a time that changed expectations of what life could be. Peek into the gilded drawing rooms of the aristocracy, walk down the quiet avenues of the new middle class, and crouch in the damp doorways of the poor. But watch your wallet – tourists make perfect prey for the thriving community of hawkers, prostitutes and scavengers.

Visit the madhouses of Hackney, the workshops of Soho and the mean streets of Cheapside. Have a coffee in the city, check the stock exchange, and pop into St Paul’s to see progress on the new dome.

This book is about the Georgians who called London their home, from dukes and artists to rent boys and hot air balloonists meeting dog-nappers and life-models along the way. It investigates the legacies they left us in architecture and art, science and society, and shows the making of the capital millions know and love today.

‘Read and be amazed by a city you thought you knew’ Jonathan Foyle, World Monuments Fund

‘Jam-packed with unusual insights and facts. A great read from a talented new historian’ Independent

‘Pacy, superbly researched. The real sparkle lies in its relentless cavalcade of insightful anecdotes . . . There’s much to treasure here‘ Londonist

‘Inglis has a good ear for the outlandish, the farcical, the bizarre and the macabre. A wonderful popular history of Hanoverian London’ London Historians

In 2009 Lucy Inglis began blogging on the lesser-known aspects of London during the Eighteenth Century – including food, immigration and sex – at GeorgianLondon.com. She lives in London with her husband. Georgian London is her first book.