Madame Restell: The Life, Death, and Resurrection of Old New York’s Most Fabulous, Fearless, and Infamous Abortionist

This book tells the story of Madame Restell, a highly successful 19th century abortionist in New York. Restell's real name was Ann Trow. An English immigrant who became a single mother after her husband's death, her options for earning a living for herself and her young daughter were limited. Wright explains how she went from being an English seamstress to a well-known and highly sought after French abortionist who'd supposedly received medical training in France.

While it was clear that Wright admired a lot about Restell, she was also frequently frustrated by her. This wasn't a 100% glowing portrait of the woman and her work - Restell was a complex person, and while Wright didn't accept that she was the devil that the media of her time show more often depicted her as, she didn't shy away from writing about Restell's less stellar actions and decisions (for example, apparent baby theft).

The sensational aspects of Restell's story, of which there were many, helped carry me through a lot of this, although I lost some reading steam about halfway through and struggled a bit to finish. I don't know what the issue was, exactly. Maybe too many moments in which Wright provided additional details about the time period or other people besides Restell that weren't strictly necessary? Maybe fatigue from the real world overlapping with my reading choices a little too much? At any rate, although my patience was wearing a bit thin by the second half, I powered through and wow, the part about Restell's death was wild.

Wright waited until the epilogue to write about her personal life and connection to Restell's story and work, and while it was powerful stuff, I imagine the folks who need to hear it wouldn't be reading this book.

Overall, despite my struggles during the second half and belief that the book would have benefited from having certain sections cut out, I found this to be a worthwhile read.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.) show less

Ann Trow Summers, an early 19th c. British immigrant to the US, became an abortionist to support herself and her daughter. She saw a need and she filled it. Her skills were keen and her confidence unshakable. She serviced the women from high society who could afford to pay or servants from wealthy homes, often impregnated by their employers. It is a heartbreaking tale of life before contraception, the low status of women within their families and their community regardless of their wealth, and the horrific risks pregnancy posed for many very young women. Jennifer Wright offers a well-researched biography of Madame Restell as she tells the story of that era, occasionally inserting commentary about women’s reproductive status today. I show more was not aware of this historic figure and am glad I was introduced. At the core, Madame Restell was an astute business woman who found a way to serve a social justice issue as well. show less

What an incredibly enlightening read.

"Most Americans don't know her name at all..."*
I was one of those Americans and as a fiction reader, I don't normally gravitate toward this genre, but overall, I was pleasantly surprised!

'Madame Restell' is fiercely feminist and incredibly thought-provoking. The facts and statistics provided by Wright are, at times, harrowing and hard to swallow. It's a harsh look into society and women's rights (or lack thereof) in the nineteenth century.

Wright's voice is quite distinct and I found myself laughing at the blunt truth she provides.
"Not drugging your infants to keep them quiet seems like a reasonable directive for mothers who were at home with their children."*
Well, yaknow...it's pretty solid advice.

I show more genuinely learned a great deal from reading about Madame Restell and I was thoroughly entertained the entire time (a huge plus for a nonfiction, if I do say so myself).
It is fantastically written and seemingly very well researched.
No matter your (pro-)stance, I believe there is something to be gained from reading this book.

Huge thank you to Hachette Books (HachetteGo) for the ARC to read and honestly review.

*My review is based from an advanced copy, lines quoted may not be in the finished publication. show less

This was a totally fascinating book -- it made me think about abortion, yes, and some really interesting historical perspectives on that. But it also made me think about attitudes towards media and money and a lot about the different ways that women have been advocating for themselves for generations. Exhaustively researched, well read, really, really interesting. Highly recommend if you want to read about feisty people fighting for women's power.

Advanced Reader's Copy provided by Libro.fm

I was pleasantly surprised to discover this life-amd-times of Victorian America's most prominent advocate-practitioner of abortion and contraception existed, though, to my surprise, the bibliography listed several other older ones. The author is definitely not the least bit shy about letting her pro-choice flag fly, and while as far as I'm concerned she's on the side of the angels on that, I eventually tired of being preached to. Aside from the soapboxing, another mixed blessing here is the innumerable tangents. Yes, life-and-times calls for many discursive jaunts into barely related territory, but when Madame Restell takes ship for Blighty, you'll be reading about the state of maritime transport at that time ten minutes later. When she show more erects an apartment house, get ready for a mini-course in Manhattan real estate. And I wish that I had skipped the gruesome epilogue, wherein she overshares about her own problem pregnancy. Still, this is a worthwhile book; contrary to one of the blurbers, the Madame is not a forgotten figure, at least by me, but I learned a great deal about a period I've studied to death, and Restell, usually treated in accounts of the period as something of an abstraction, came much more alive to me. There are a few lacunae and minor factual errors, and you won't have to look too hard to find typos, but by contemporary publishing standards this is a pretty clean read, and the author's snarky take on the attitudes toward women of the day and SCOTUS' overruling abortion rights are great fun with serious underpinning. show less

We think of abortion as a modern divisive issue, but in the mid-nineteenth century, the US struggled with it, too. Nowhere was the battle more front-and-center than in New York City, and the woman at the center was Ann Trow Lohman, widely known as Madame Restell. Jennifer Wright explores Restell’s life while also examining the society she lived in with a strong feminist lean. A little slow at times, still an interesting exploration of New York City in a burgeoning time when the country wrestled with its puritanical past and forward-looking future.

Madame Restell: The Life Death and Resurrection of Old New York's Most Fabulous, Fearless and Infamous Abortionist
by: Jennifer Wright
Hachette Books
Due July 2023
*****

A women the New York TImes has called "the wickest women in the world", was a successful businesswomen and immigrant, as well as an abortionist. Madame Restell began manufacturing and dispensing pill in New York City in the 1830's, after immigrating from the UK. The pills were given to help relieve liver ailments and stomach problems. She had no medical training and never studied medicine. Her popularity and demand drove a desperate women to inquire about a pill to induce an abortion. And so it all began. In the 1830's, an abortion done before the "guickening" ( about 20 show more weeks) was only a misdemeanor. After the "quickening", it was a felony. Women had just gained the right to keep her own property and income after marriage, and also the ability to decide if she wanted to keep her children and raise them, or send them to a wet nurse, or baby farm. Her abortion pills had very mixed reactions.

This fascinating and timely story brings up so many other important topics that are related. Adoption. Child Labor Laws. Child Healthcare Laws. Immigration. Know Nothing Movement. Nationalist Movement. Comstock Act. These issues surround a womens right to choose. The deep and extensive research and reading is evident and presented in a postiive and open manner. Engrossing and necessary, this is such a timely book.The rights of women and the rights of women to make decisions about their own bodies is an issue, again. Many girls will grow up thinking of themselves as second-class citizens, whose health and goals are less important to people in power, than her ability to breed. This book will make you think, consider and re-consider many important issues. Do we want to tell our daughters about that time in history, when we were her age and we owned our own bodies and made our own decisons?
An absolutely necessary, well written novel with many timely important topics.
Highly recommended.

Thanks to net galley and Hachette Book for sending this e-book ARC for fair review.
#netgally #MadameRestell show less