Bøger af Sara Read

This is a lively exploration of the everyday lives of women in early modern England, from 1540-1740. The book uncovers details of how women filled their days, what they liked to eat and drink, what jobs they held, and how they raised their children. With chapters devoted to beauty regimes, fashion, and literature, the book also examines the cultural as well as the domestic aspect of early modern women's lives. Further, the book answers questions such as how women understood and dealt with their monthly periods and what it was like to give birth in a time before modern obstetric care was available. The book also highlights key moments in women's history such as the publication in 1671, of the first midwifery guide by an English woman, Jane Sharp. The turmoil caused by the Civil Wars of the 1640s gave rise to a number of religious sects in which women participated to a surprising extent and some of their stories are included in this book. Also scrutinised are cases of notorious criminals such as murderer Sarah Malcolm and confidence trickster Mary Toft who pretended to give birth to rabbits. Overall the book describes the experiences of women over a two hundred year period noting the changes and continuities of daily life during this fascinating era.

"Vivid, visceral, and sexy-I loved it."-JEN DEVON, author of Bend Toward the Sun, on Johanna Porter Is Not SorryA brilliant mind needs a strong heart. Mathematical genius Dr. Meg Brightwood has just completed her life's work-proof of a problem so impenetrable it's nicknamed the Impossible Theorem. Reclusive and burdened by anxiety, Meg has long since been dismissed by academia. Now everyone wants to get their hands on what she alone possesses-especially her own mathematician father. Having grown up a prodigy in a field plagued by sexism and plagiarism, Meg opts for a public presentation so there will be no doubt of her authorship. But a panic attack obliterates her plans. In defeat, she goes home and locks away the one and only manuscript of her proof. Then chance sends her the unlikeliest of allies: Isaac Wells-carpenter, high school dropout, in trouble with the law. And the one love of Meg's life. Fifteen years ago, they did little more than hold hands. Now, they find a tenuous space where they can love and be loved for who they are-not who the world expects them to be. But when Meg goes to retrieve the Impossible Theorem, she finds it missing. Her fight for the achievement of the century will test the limits of her brilliance and the endurance of two vulnerable hearts.

Midwife Lucie Smith had expected to live a retired life of quiet contemplation, somewhere with a small garden to tend and room for a few hens. However, 1666 sees her with no option but to keep serving remedies in her late husband's shop at the sign of the Three Doves, since no new apothecary can be found for the town of Tupingham.Not only that, but Lucie's house gradually refills with people in need of shelter and care. Her son Simon comes home, seeking refuge from the Great Fire of London. Teenaged twins have been abandoned by their family following a solemn discovery in an outside privy. And refugees from the fire have started to flood into the town.Amidst all this, Lucie is confronted with painful memories of her unresolved losses from years gone by. In a vulnerable state, she succumbs to a winter sickness which almost kills her. With two men vying for her hand in marriage, and Simon attempting to steer her in a new direction, she must decide which path she should take and whose intentions she can trust. One thing is certain, Lucie will be the one to determine her own course.

"Vivid, visceral, and sexy-I loved it." -JEN DEVON, author of Bend Toward the SunThe headlines dubbed it the art heist of the decade… Twenty years ago, Johanna Porter was a rising star in the art world. Now she's an unknown soccer mom. When an invitation arrives for an elite gallery opening for her former lover, the great Nestor Pinedo, Johanna wants to throw it in the trash where it belongs. But with some styling help from her daughter, she makes an appearance and comes face-to-face with the woman she was before the powerful and jealous Nestor ruined her.La Rosa Blanca is a portrait of Johanna herself, young and fierce and fearless-a masterwork with a price tag to match. When she cuts it out of its frame, rolls it up and walks out, Johanna is only taking back what was stolen from her. Hiding out with La Rosa Blanca in a shack on the Chesapeake Bay, Johanna digs into the raw work of reviving her own skills while battling novice-thief paranoia, impostor syndrome and mom guilt. But Johanna doesn't just want the painting-she wants to paint again. To harness her powerful talent, she must defy everyone's expectations-most of all her own-for what a woman like her should be.

In early modern English medicine, the balance of fluids in the body was seen as key to health. Menstruation was widely believed to regulate blood levels in the body and so was extensively discussed in medical texts. Sara Read examines all forms of literature, from plays and poems, to life-writing, and compares these texts with the medical theories.