Many years ago I read The Red Tent by Anita Diamant. I remember being very taken with the bits that had to do with birth and midwifery from this time period. More recently, I read Joanna Kavenna's wonderful, The Birth of Love, which dealt not only with modern day home birth, but also with historical birthing practices and early attempts to control the spread of disease.
I suppose recs don't have to be limited to midwifery, but historical birthing practices (and maybe modern too!) should play a part.
Can you help me out? My Goodreads wishlist NEEDS you!
I just started reading The Sandcastle Girls by Chris Bohjalian and noticed that he's got a book called Midwives. I haven't read it but it looks intriguing.
ReplyDeleteI've only tried one of Bohjalian's books (The Night Strangers), and it didn't blow my skirt up, but I'd be willing to give Midwives a go!
DeleteWell, a few of us are doing a read-along of Telegraph Avenue by Michael Chabon. Although it's marketed as a book about race and music, two of the main characters are midwives and the interplay between their practice and the hospital is very interesting.
ReplyDeleteOh cool! I would never have guessed this topic to pop up in Chabon's new one! Thanks for the heads up!
DeleteDid you try this list? there are some novels in it: http://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/midwifery-books
ReplyDeleteI will check it out!
DeleteSadly I have no recommendations for you but I definitely enjoyed The Red Tent when my book club read it some years ago.
ReplyDeleteLoooved it! It's one I will most definitely re-read at some point.
DeleteRecently read about one called The Midwife of Hope River..looked really good.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.amazon.com/The-Midwife-Hope-River-American/dp/0062198890
Thanks, Becca! I'll check it out!
DeleteJust wanted to throw in a non-recommendation, lol
ReplyDeleteMy friend reviewed The Midwife of Venice, and it doesn't sound like it was a fun read.
LOL, thanks, Marie! I've seen that one but I haven't paid a whole lot of attention.
DeleteNow that I think on it... Laurie Alice Eakes is historical romance author who has a Midwives series. The second one was a good (fun) read..
ReplyDeleteMy review. I think these are good for a by the beach/pool read.
Awesome! I need those light reads pretty regularly lately, so I'll definitely give these a look.
DeleteI haven't read them, but Patricia Harman is a midwife who has written several midwife books - fiction and memoir.
ReplyDeleteCool! Thanks, Kathy! Who better than a midwife to write on the subject! :D
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ReplyDeleteBaby Catcher by Peggy Vincent was a great, sometimes funny, read.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much! I saw that one when I was working my way through some Goodreads recommendations. :D
DeleteThe Midwife: A Memoir of Birth, Joy, and Hard Times by Jennifer Worth.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Laura!
DeleteMy mom just read The Midwife of Venice and loved it. I'd recommend The Birth House by Ami McKay.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Lisa. another buddy recommended The Birth House over on Facebook. It's definitely near the top of my wishlist.
DeleteOh my gosh, Andi, we are reading twins, I swear it! I love midwife books and have read quite a few. A few off the top of my head are: The Birth House, The Midwife of Venice, Arms Wide Open, and oh, so many more that I can't remember right now! If you send me an email to remind me, I will go hunting through my shelves.
ReplyDeleteYay! I'm so glad I have such a cool twin! :D Thanks so much for the recs. Already sent that reminder e-mail. hehe
DeleteYes to Midwives - Chris Bojahlian (I didn't like The Night Strangers but Midwives is a great read). Yes to The Birth House - Ami Mc Kay. Resounding NO to The Midwife of Venice and The Birthing House... :-)
ReplyDeleteDo you only want fiction books about midwives? Because I read a really AWESOME book called A Midwife's Tale by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich that I highly recommend about a midwife in post-colonial Maine.
ReplyDeleteAlso, PBS has a series coming in fall, Call the Midwife, about a 1950s-era midwife.
Call the Midwife has been shown over here in the UK already and it is fantastic! I highly recommend watching it. It is based on the books by Jennifer Worth, which I'm told are excellent, but I haven't read them yet.
ReplyDeleteThe Healing by Jonathan O'Dell tells the story of a slave midwife in Mississippi. HIghly recommend.
ReplyDeleteThe Midwife: A Memoir of Birth, Joy and Hard Times by Jennifer Worth is quite good. I read it 2009 and still remember quite a bit. :) You can find my review here, Andi. I also read The Midwife of Venice, but I was disappointed with that one. I wanted more accounts of the midwifery.
ReplyDeleteI have no suggestions (but can't wait until YOU tell US which ones to read!) but I loved The Red Tent :)
ReplyDeleteI have 2 nonfic! Baby Catcher is the memoir of a modern midwife and A Midwife's Tale is an incredible history book based on the diary of a New England 18th cent midwife.
ReplyDeleteI have no suggestions for you but am curious if you are going to post the final list. It would be an interesting list, to say the least!
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