Old Wives' Tales: The History of Remedies, Charms and Spells
May 2012 · The History Press
1.0star
2 reviewsreport
Ebook
160
Pages
family_home
Eligible
info
reportRatings and reviews aren’t verified Learn More
About this ebook
We may all know that dandelions make us wet the bed, and that stewed prunes are a cure for constipation, but how many of us were aware that a poultice of chicken manure is a remedy for baldness? Or that eel liver will aid a difficult labour?
The woman healer is as old as history. For millennia she has been doctor, nurse and midwife, and even in the age of modern medicine her wisdom is handed down in the form of old wives' tales.
Using extensive research into archives and original texts, and numerous conversations with women in city and countryside, Mary Chamberlain presents a stimulating challenge to the history of orthodox medicine and an illuminating survey of female wisdom which goes back to the earliest times. What are old wives' tales? Where do they come from? Do they really work?
These questions, and many more, are answered in this fascinating compendium of remedies and cures handed down from mother to daughter from the beginning of time.
Ratings and reviews
1.0
2 reviews
About the author
Mary Chamberlain has lived and worked in England and the Caribbean, and is Emeritus Professor of History at Oxford Brookes University. Her book, Fenwomen, was the first to be published by Virago Press in 1975. Since then she has written many books on women's history, oral history and Caribbean history. She is a graduate of the acclaimed Creative Writing MA at Royal Holloway, University of London.
Rate this ebook
Tell us what you think.
Reading information
Smartphones and tablets
Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.
Laptops and computers
You can listen to audiobooks purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.
eReaders and other devices
To read on e-ink devices like Kobo eReaders, you'll need to download a file and transfer it to your device. Follow the detailed Help Center instructions to transfer the files to supported eReaders.
