12/05/2022
This impassioned and irreverent biography of abortionist Ann Trow Sommers Lohman (1812–1878), better known as Madame Restell, places her in the “pantheon of women with no fucks left to give.” Journalist Wright (She Kills Me) details how the recently widowed Restell learned from a neighbor in New York City how to compound pills to sell to women looking to prevent or terminate a pregnancy. Her second husband, a newspaper printer, helped write ads that established her new persona as a French-trained physician. By 1839, Restell had a constant stream of clients seeking abortive pills as well as surgical abortions, but her visible wealth and outspokenness about women’s right to control their fertility soon attracted powerful enemies. Following the passage of a stricter anti-abortion law in 1845, she was sentenced to a year in jail for performing a surgical abortion. In 1878, anti-vice crusader Anthony Comstock, posing as the distraught acquaintance of a woman who was in a “delicate situation,” entrapped Restell and arrested her. Rather than face another trial, she took her own life. Wright paints a vivid picture of Restell’s rise to prominence and weaves in intriguing details about the history of birth control and abortion. This feminist history fascinates. (Feb.)
**Longlisted for the Brooklyn Public Library Book Prize in Nonfiction (2023)** **Smithsonian Magazine, “10 Best History Books of 2023”** **Audible, "12 Best History Listens of 2023" **
**An Amazon EDITOR'S PICK for BEST BOOKS OF 2023 SO FAR in BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR and HISTORY** **An Amazon EDITOR'S PICK for BEST BOOKS OF THE MONTH (March 2023)** **INDIE NEXT List Pick for March 2023** **A Bookshop.Org EDITOR'S PICK (March 2023)*** Next Idea Book Club, "February Must Reads" and "40 Nonfiction Books to Watch Out For in 2023"Cosmopolitan, "11 Best Books to Put on Your TBR" Amazon, Best Books in History and Nonfiction (March 2023)The Spectator, "Books to Watch Out For in 2023"American Journal of Bioethics, "Recommended Reading"
"Painfully timely... Wright observes that Americans don’t take well to learning history. When it is delivered with this kind of blunt force, however, perhaps they might. Whatever readers end up thinking of Madame Restell, they surely cannot miss the core lesson: that there has never been a culture in human history without abortion. The only variable has ever been the cost.—New York Times Book Review
“A searing portrait of an indomitable woman… Wright juxtaposes her subject’s story with those of Restell’s patients and an overview of the broader conversation surrounding abortion in the late 19th century.”—Smithsonian Magazine
"Wright’s book dances off the page."—Washington Post
"They say that history is written by the victors, which goes a long way towards explaining the anonymity of Ann Trow, a.k.a. Madame Restell. Jennifer Wright’s meticulously researched, dryly humorous, and frankly feminist biography of the glamorous, celebrated, and unapologetic abortionist—whose defiance in the face of an oppressive patriarchy can best be described as (ahem) ballsy—should set that right... Dismantling centuries-old misconceptions, Wright blends rousing biography and eye-opening medical and cultural history lessons in this compulsively readable biography of a remarkable woman."—Amazon
"Madame Restell is a timely portrait of one woman’s boldness mixes deep research with page-turning prose to bring Madame Restell’s times to life, reminding what’s at stake in the fight for bodily autonomy." (Editor's Pick)—Bookshop.Org
“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.” —Daily Kos
"Restell is central to the story of the dismantling of American women's reproductive freedom during the last half of the nineteenth century, yet she has largely been treated as a curiosity and a footnote.... [This work] fill[s] a grievous void... Wright... has produced an engaging... chronicle, with clear passion..."—New York Review of Books
“This brightly written biography of a fierce woman lost to history will appeal strongly to feminists.”—New York Journal of Books
"A compelling study."—Los Angeles Review of Books
“This captivating portrait of the infamous self-taught surgeon and medical celebrity is also a glance at shifting mid-19th century mores, male power players, and their strategic campaign to curtail female independence and criminalize abortion.”—Globe & Mail
“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.” —BookReporter.com
“This is a book that’ll make you want to stand up and say, ‘HECK YES!’”—"Book Worm Says" column
"The fact that Ann Trow isn’t a well-known feminist heroine is a travesty. Thankfully, Jennifer Wright is here with an extensively researched, compulsively readable account of this singularly fascinating woman and her extraordinary legacy that still affects so much of the country even today... Lost to history by the concerted efforts of power-hungry, sexist men, this remarkable woman is finally receiving her due in this fast-paced, whirlwind of a book. This book is more than a retrospective on the life of a forgotten heroine; it’s a telling account of how women’s health became both a commodity and a tool of oppression. Highly recommended for anyone with an eye on today’s politics and wonders how we got here."
—CityView
“Wright’s well-researched biography is not only interesting, but, sadly, timely. A fresh contribution to women’s history.”—Kirkus
"[An] impassioned and irreverent biography... Wright paints a vivid picture of Restell’s rise to prominence and weaves in intriguing details about the history of birth control and abortion. This feminist history fascinates."—Publishers Weekly
“Jennifer Wright is one of the best writers of history working today, and it’s a gift to all of us that she’s choosing to focus her tremendous skill as a researcher and singular voice on an all-but-forgotten figure like Madame Restell. To call this book timely would be an understatement. It functions not only as a brilliant biography but also a timeless reminder of the way history can be erased and changed to serve modern political purposes.”—DANA SCHWARTZ, #1 New York Times bestselling author of ANATOMY: A LOVE STORY and host of NOBLE BLOOD
“It may be a 19th century story, but Madame Restell's battles with sanctimonious hypocrites and condescending men feels all too modern, especially in an era when basic rights are once again being taken away. Luckily, Jennifer Wright has a wry humor and light hand, making this book as fun as it is inspiring.”—AMANDA MARCOTTE, Senior Political Writer at Salon and Author of TROLL NATION
“Reading Jennifer Wright’s books is always like having a brilliant friend tell you fascinating history you can’t believe you never heard of before. MADAME RESTELL is no exception—it’s a page-turning ride through the Gilded Age that will make you laugh, make you cry, and enrage you by turns.”—ALEXANDRA PETRI, Washington Post columnist and author of Alexandra Petri’s US History
“Like the woman herself, MADAME RESTELL is smart, fascinating, complicated, and not to be denied. Wright has written that most delicious of books, the true story of a bad bitch, a woman whose work is as relevant as your social media timeline, only it’s true.”—QUINN CUMMINGS, author of NOTES FROM THE UNDERWIRE and SMALL STORIES (2018-2020)
“MADAME RESTELL is a book about one of America's most infamous 19th century abortion providers, which is to say it's a delightful, indecorous, and sometimes disturbing story about the whole of American history: Capitalism and class, feminism and freedom, and puritanical hypocrites who find their authority challenged by women who want a littler power (and are willing to be more than a little bawdy in order to get it). If you want to understand contemporary politics, from brave women who break the law to the misogynist moral scolds who still want women under their thumb to the inevitable interplay of despair and resistance in the pursuit of liberation—or if you just want to read a truly captivating tale of the most important woman you've never heard of—don't miss MADAME RESTELL.”—JILL FILIPOVIC, journalist and author of THE H-SPOT
Mara Wilson's engaging, lyrical voice is a suitable match for Jennifer Wright's biography. In pre-Gilded Age New York City, Madame Restell was a healer and chemist who created and provided reliable birth control and abortion solutions for women who needed help. Wilson deftly navigates the serious medical information and evokes empathy for women who need to end pregnancy for a variety of reasons. Restell was not always well liked but still managed to create a fortune for herself and help countless women. With its quotes from newspapers and journals of the time, this audio provides listeners with much to learn and enjoy. C.F. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
Mara Wilson's engaging, lyrical voice is a suitable match for Jennifer Wright's biography. In pre-Gilded Age New York City, Madame Restell was a healer and chemist who created and provided reliable birth control and abortion solutions for women who needed help. Wilson deftly navigates the serious medical information and evokes empathy for women who need to end pregnancy for a variety of reasons. Restell was not always well liked but still managed to create a fortune for herself and help countless women. With its quotes from newspapers and journals of the time, this audio provides listeners with much to learn and enjoy. C.F. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
2022-12-06
A biography of the determined woman who battled misogyny to help women in need in 19th-century New York City.
Ann Trow (1812-1878) came to the U.S. from her native England in 1831 with her husband and young daughter, hoping to make a living as a seamstress. Two years later, her husband was dead, she and her daughter were living in a Manhattan slum, and she was desperate to earn enough to support them both. As Wright recounts in a sharp, lively biography, Ann soon managed not only to support herself, but to become one of the wealthiest women of her time. From a local apothecary, she learned how to create pills that would bring on a miscarriage; it’s likely that he taught her, as well, how to perform surgical abortions. In 1836, she remarried, and she and her new husband set out to bolster her business as an abortion and birth control provider. She styled herself the faintly aristocratic Madame Restell, claimed she had learned medicine from her French grandmother, and advertised widely. Praised as a “female physician to the human race” and widely profiled by journalists who found her charming, Restell took up residence in a respected part of town, where her business thrived. In narrating Restell’s story, Wright chronicles the history of abortion in America, which became increasingly criminalized during the 19th century, as physicians, religious leaders, and politicians demanded control over women’s bodies. Restell was first arrested in 1839, spent two months in the notorious Manhattan prison The Tombs in 1841, and six months in a penitentiary in 1848—where she was given unheard-of privileges, such as wearing her own fashionable clothing rather than prison garb. Several times she was falsely accused by women of having botched their abortions, and even though her own lawyers prevailed, Restell’s reputation became tarnished. Now, when once again women’s access to reproductive care is being impeded, Wright’s well-researched biography is not only interesting, but, sadly, timely.
A fresh contribution to women’s history.
