Maternity

Maternity: letters from working women provoked a sensation when it was published in 1915, presenting as it did -- for the first time-- the working woman's view of maternity. The letters, a moving record of courage, self-sacrafice, and love, are remarkable for their view of working class life and for the strength of feeling for husband and children which survived often the most adverse conditions. The women who wrote this book were members of the Women's Co-operative Guild. Founded in 1883, it became an important agent in the education of working women, and by the First World War had grown into a vigorous campaigning organization with a membership 32,000 strong... Maternity is an ample tribute to her ideals. An historical document of great value, it is a unique source of information and enlightenment on the lives of women, men, and children in the nineteenth century."-- front page.