My Favorite Countess (38 page)
Read My Favorite Countess Online
Authors: Vanessa Kelly
HISTORICAL NOTE
When I first decided to create a hero who was a physician and an accoucheur (man-midwife), little did I know how complicated a task that would be. The study and practice of midwifery during the Georgian and Regency periods was fraught with scientific and political complications, as different groups of practitioners, including midwives, surgeons, and physicians, fought for dominance in the profession. The history of the use of forceps is but one example. Invented by the Chamberlen family in the early seventeenth century, their design and use was carefully guarded as a family secret until about 1700. Forceps were then used quite extensively throughout the eighteenth century. Toward the end of the century, however, there was a swing away from the use of forceps, as many physicians strenuously advocated non-intervention in the birthing process. Heated discussions about the appropriate use of forceps and other medical interventions went on for years, as childbearing became increasingly the sphere of male doctors rather than of female midwives and family members. Finding my way through this complicated history would have been much more difficult without the assistance of Franzeca Drouin, researcher and librarian. Any errors or medical mishaps in the telling of this story, of course, are mine.
Part of my book takes place in Ripon, a town in Yorkshire, and certain events take place around the celebration of a local festival to celebrate St. Wilfrid. I am indebted to Roy Waite of the Ripon Historical Society for information about the town and the festival. Although it is unlikely that the festivities to honor the saint were quite as lively in 1817 as the one attended by John and Bathsheba, celebrations of that type did occur in towns like Ripon during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. I drew on those traditions to create the scenes in my book.
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Copyright © 2011 by Vanessa Kelly
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If you purchased this book without a cover you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the Publisher and neither the Author nor the Publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.”
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ISBN: 978-1-4201-1483-6
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