Unwell Women: A Journey Through Medicine and Myth in a Man-Made World by Elinor Cleghorn is a revised history spanning from the ancient Greeks to the present day, one which places women at the centre of medical discovery, knowledge, and practises. It is likely she wouldn’t have been without the testimonies provided by the male anatomists who concurred with the local midwife and fellow servants that Anne’s pregnancy was in its early stages that the baby would have not been able to survive under any circumstances. Ann was revived by the anatomists and later retrialled. ‘She had been hanged, stamped on, and lay in the cold for hours. The next morning, the anatomists heard a whisper from Anne’s throat.

To put her out of her misery, a male servant stamped on her. When her coffin was opened, Anne appeared to be breathing. After Anne was pronounced dead she was taken to the anatomists who had been permitted to dissect her body. Anne was put on trial for attempting to conceal the death of an illegitimate infant, which she was found guilty of, and was sentenced to hang. Her son was stillborn and she buried his body near a cesspit.

Four months later, Anne went into labour. She was raped by the owner’s nephew in 1650 and became pregnant. ISBN 9781474616850Īnne Green joined a grand house in an Oxfordshire village as a scullery maid during the 1640s.

Unwell women by elinor cleghorn dutton