Drawing on the diaries of a midwife and healer in eighteenth-century Maine, this intimate history illuminates the medical practices, household econ...
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Mar 09, 2009
Lisa
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I read this book 15 years ago shortly after it won the Pulitzer, and it was amazing then, and I was equally impressed this time. In fact I was surprised as I read how much of it I could remember reading even that many years ago, so it must have made a deep impression.
I'm just in awe if LTU, the depth and breadth of information that she gleans from Martha Ballard's spare diary entries is mind boggling, for instance, she'll throw out a comparison of the number of people, male and fe More...
I'm just in awe if LTU, the depth and breadth of information that she gleans from Martha Ballard's spare diary entries is mind boggling, for instance, she'll throw out a comparison of the number of people, male and fe More...
Jan 28, 2008
Sandra D
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I first happened upon Martha Ballard's diary online a few years ago and found it interesting but difficult to decipher, so I was happy to find this book.
In it, Ms. Ulrich has skillfully woven diary entries with local history records in order to create a fuller picture of life in a small New England town in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. She used entries in the diary as a jumping-off point to elaborate not only on the larger themes of birth, death, religion and political uph More...
In it, Ms. Ulrich has skillfully woven diary entries with local history records in order to create a fuller picture of life in a small New England town in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. She used entries in the diary as a jumping-off point to elaborate not only on the larger themes of birth, death, religion and political uph More...
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Feb 26, 2009
Stephanie
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I kept journals fairly religiously while I was in high school. They are so full of rampant sentimentality (i.e. boy craziness) that reading them now makes me want to fetch the lighter fluid and matches straightaway.
Martha Ballard avoided this problem neatly by keeping her entries brief, factual and largely devoid of emotion or interpretation. She kept careful track of her work as a midwife, her gardening and household chores, and the comings and goings of friends, family, and neighb More...
Martha Ballard avoided this problem neatly by keeping her entries brief, factual and largely devoid of emotion or interpretation. She kept careful track of her work as a midwife, her gardening and household chores, and the comings and goings of friends, family, and neighb More...
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Mar 25, 2009
Leslie
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“A man works from sun to sun, but a woman’s work is never done.”
Martha Moore was born in 1735 in the town of Oxford, MA. She married Ephraim Ballard in 1754 and gave birth to nine children, lost three of them to diphtheria and eventually died in Maine, in 1812 at the age of 77.
Between 1785 and 1812, Martha Ballard kept a diary. Without it her life would’ve been just a succession of born and died dates in some town registry. We would know nothing about her. We would n More...
Martha Moore was born in 1735 in the town of Oxford, MA. She married Ephraim Ballard in 1754 and gave birth to nine children, lost three of them to diphtheria and eventually died in Maine, in 1812 at the age of 77.
Between 1785 and 1812, Martha Ballard kept a diary. Without it her life would’ve been just a succession of born and died dates in some town registry. We would know nothing about her. We would n More...
Jul 27, 2011
Linda
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This was recommended by a former coworker who wasn't 'former' when the recommendation was made. It took me a while to get to it but it was worth it once I got there!
Ulrich uses the diary of Martha Ballard to provide a look into late 18th, early 19th century New England life that is absent from most other sources. Martha's world view wasn't one of grand nation building but instead focused on her family, community and her work as a midwife. The diary begins with Martha around 50 and cont More...
Ulrich uses the diary of Martha Ballard to provide a look into late 18th, early 19th century New England life that is absent from most other sources. Martha's world view wasn't one of grand nation building but instead focused on her family, community and her work as a midwife. The diary begins with Martha around 50 and cont More...
Feb 22, 2010
Anna
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I think vibrant history needs to follow the same rule as vibrant fiction: show, don't tell. And Laurel Thatcher Ulrich does exactly that with her award winning social history "A Midwife's Tale". Instead of telling us in droning detail about a variety of different roles women had in early US history, she shows us the life of midwife Martha Ballard, using her diary and other primary sources from Hallowell (now Augusta) to do so.
Throughout, Ulrich focuses on three themes: Soci More...
Throughout, Ulrich focuses on three themes: Soci More...
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Feb 22, 2010
J.
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I think vibrant history needs to follow the same rule as vibrant fiction: show, don't tell. And Laurel Thatcher Ulrich does exactly that with her award winning social history "A Midwife's Tale". Instead of telling us in droning detail about a variety of different roles women had in early US history, she shows us the life of midwife Martha Ballard, using her diary and other primary sources from Hallowell (now Augusta) to do so.
Throughout, Ulrich focuses on three themes: Soci More...
Throughout, Ulrich focuses on three themes: Soci More...
Dec 08, 2009
Tami
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There were some very interesting and fascinating parts to this book. I loved the fact that is was based on an actual journal from a midwife back in the late 1700's.
She really worked hard and hardly complained. I think most of us are the opposite these days.
I love family history and what a treasure for these families who had ancestors who lived in Maine during this time period.
I found it interesting that midwife's were totally acceptable during this time but then the tide More...
She really worked hard and hardly complained. I think most of us are the opposite these days.
I love family history and what a treasure for these families who had ancestors who lived in Maine during this time period.
I found it interesting that midwife's were totally acceptable during this time but then the tide More...
Jun 29, 2009
Michael
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This is a biography of a midwife who lived in the early post-Revolutionary United States, based largely on a detailed diary she kept from 1785 to 1812. It offers readers a look at the day-to-day life of an independent woman from a period in history mostly remembered for "great men." It is carefully edited and annotated to offer context for the reader not familiar with the period, and contains many fascinating tidbits of personal history. Martha Ballard is not interesting in herself, bu
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Mar 24, 2009
Jennifer
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This was a very interesting read. The format of the book featured sections of Martha Ballard's journal and then the author's interpretations and extrapolations of the topics in the journal. Each chapter was a certain month, year, the next chapter would be the next calender month but a different year (for instance chapter 1: August 1787, Chapter 2: September 1788). Much of this book read like a history textbook, a lot of dates and names. She referenced other diaries and records from the area and
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Feb 19, 2011
Elisabeth
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This is now my all-time favorite non-fiction book! Around the end of the first chapter I was so entranced I "hoarded" it, reading just a little bit each day. IF you love non-fiction, IF you love reading about American history right after the Revolutionary War, IF you love the minutia of an average person's life, IF you love to read about women then this is the book for you! Martha Ballard was an average, middle-class woman who kept a daily journal for roughly the last 40 years of he
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Apr 21, 2009
Ellen
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This started out really slowly. The introduction just about killed me with the dry and convoluted information. I had trouble following it and caring. Then I started on the rest of it. I really liked the format; being able to read some of the diary but then being told the back story from lots of other sources. The diary itself was hard to read but got easier as things went on.
I thought Martha's life was very interesting. All the comings and goings. It all made me want to live in an a More...
I thought Martha's life was very interesting. All the comings and goings. It all made me want to live in an a More...
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Sep 28, 2010
Jacob
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Jan 02, 2012
Natalie
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I only give 5 stars to books that really touch my heart and mind. This book is one of them. My grandmother gave a copy of this book to me and I devoured it.
A Midwife's Tale is not just a book on midwifery in the 18th century, but a peek into what life was like in New England at that time. The author took Martha Ballard's diary and used it to illustrate the history, social order, customs, gender roles and more was like.
The amount of research she must have conducted is q More...
A Midwife's Tale is not just a book on midwifery in the 18th century, but a peek into what life was like in New England at that time. The author took Martha Ballard's diary and used it to illustrate the history, social order, customs, gender roles and more was like.
The amount of research she must have conducted is q More...
Dec 21, 2009
Susan
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I began reading this book because Martha Ballard, the midwife, was a knitter who recorded her progress in winding wool and knitting socks and mittens while she attended births (lots and lots of them). Ulrich won a Pulitzer for this book, an astonishing interpretation of the diary of a midwife in Maine during the late 1700s/early 1800s. It is amazing that Martha Ballard kept this diary and equally amazing that her family preserved and donated her diary to the Maine State Library. Ulrich. Interest
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Feb 06, 2011
In the introduction the author bemoans the fact that earlier reviewers thought the diary of Martha Ballard was too focused on mundane details and not worth studying but I must say I agree with them. There just isn’t enough there to make this a compelling read. Her diary is really more of a log book than a diary. It is a systematic accounting of her and her family members duties, the comings and going of her family, neighbors, and friends (literally this person came, this person went with no sto
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Aug 01, 2011
Erin
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This is one of the first historical nonfiction books I read that I enjoyed. I read it years ago, but I still own a copy and have never forgotten the impression this book made on me that history can be interesting, that the most mundane details can be interpreted to mean something significant, and that history often ignores those who have no voice.
The book began a lifelong fascination with medical history in general and women's medical history specifically. I found this book to be wel More...
The book began a lifelong fascination with medical history in general and women's medical history specifically. I found this book to be wel More...
Oct 11, 2007
Sarah
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Extra interesting to me because Martha Ballard worked and wrote across the river from my hometown. Fascinating first hand account of daily life in Colonial New England. I found the peek into gender roles especially interesting.
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Dec 18, 2010
Jennifer
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I loved this history, and I fell in love with this midwife. My third pregnancy, delivery and postpartum was with a midwife, and it was a much different experience that the medical model I experience with my other three. The community of women is such a vital part of a woman's life and enjoyment and having babies was a huge part of this community, and still is in the homebirth/midwife community. This is a way that women pass on knowledge and history to other women, impart faith and courage an
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Jan 03, 2011
John
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Excellent work of history, really compelling, lots of great detail. Ulrich uses Ballard's diary really well, but doesn't stop there; she works in all kinds of information gleaned from other primary sources to construct a marvelously detailed portrait of Augusta/Hallowell, Maine circa 1800. I love the choice of beginning each chapter with a week or two of diary entries reproduced in their entirety, and then following that by explaining what stories those entries tell, what clues they provide to M
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Jun 06, 2009
Lisa
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This book was a fascinating look into 18th century American culture. Martha Ballard was just past her childbearing years and had become a midwife. She kept a diary with impressive regularity and detail, describing births, familial and societal reactions to these births, how much she was paid to assist in them, and how it was "determined" who the father could be right in the middle of each delivery. I have no desire to become a midwife, but this book converted me to the value of keep
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May 09, 2010
Sally
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This book is a scholarly work about everyday life and how it related to a bigger picture of the time and place, which is late 1700s to very early 1800s in the state of Maine where Augusta is now located. The author used these diary entries from 1785 - 1812 to illuminate many different topics - medicine, politics, changing roles of women in medicine, the role of women in everyday life and the family, family size and activities, etc. I enjoyed reading this book and being shown the everyday life
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Apr 10, 2011
There is so much in this book that is unexpected and unexpectedly interesting about the life of a late 18th/early 19th-century midwife in a small town in Maine -- regarding medicine, economics, religion, marriage and family life, crime, and more. The writing is clear and conveys a lot of detail without getting too dense.
Beyond the subject matter itself, it is also fascinating to see a historian at work. The way Laurel Thatcher Ulrich uses careful research and insightful analysis to More...
Beyond the subject matter itself, it is also fascinating to see a historian at work. The way Laurel Thatcher Ulrich uses careful research and insightful analysis to More...
Nov 29, 2010
Nancy
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Until about a third of the way through, I didn't care much how many babies this midwife delivered and the round of sameness in her life got to be a bit tedious. But it suddenly dawned on me how important this book really is as a piece of American history and a cultural record of the time.
Also, the diary entries at the beginning of each chapter do not reflect what further explanation and events are to come. This became a tremendously interesting book and I began to like Martha Ballard ver More...
Also, the diary entries at the beginning of each chapter do not reflect what further explanation and events are to come. This became a tremendously interesting book and I began to like Martha Ballard ver More...
Dec 15, 2010
Valerie
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This was so interesting and great! I heard about it a few years ago, and accidently picked up 'a handmaid's tale' which is completely different.
I love that this smart educated woman recorded her life's work in a very concise and scientific journal. I like to learn that people in the early 1800's thought and lived in ways similar to us today. I hated that this smart woman got old and spent her declining years complaining about her life, her husband, her son, and hating her daughter More...
I love that this smart educated woman recorded her life's work in a very concise and scientific journal. I like to learn that people in the early 1800's thought and lived in ways similar to us today. I hated that this smart woman got old and spent her declining years complaining about her life, her husband, her son, and hating her daughter More...
Aug 17, 2010
Nan
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How grateful we should all be that Ulrich perceived the fascinating story hidden behind the spare, businesslike details of the diary and did the research to draw out the drama. The big movements of history are interesting, but what intrigues me and what is hard to find are factual accounts of the lives of ordinary people. And nobody is woven more into the fabric of daily life than a healer/midwife. Thank you, Martha, and thank you Laurel, and thanks to the people who preserved this diary thro
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Aug 15, 2010
Robyn
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This was a really interesting and valiant attempt to recreate the life of a woman living in Maine in the late 18th, early 19th century. Also, she's a midwife. What an amazing task to imagine the life of Martha Ballard based on her rather terse diary entries. Ulrich sticks so closely to her historical material, and you can alsmot feel the struggle between her desire to fill in what's missing and her need to stick to what the actual written evidence tells her. You get an interesting insight in
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May 10, 2010
Charlotte
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This book has stuck with me for almost a decade. It is based on the journal of a midwife in the early 1800's. You see her entry one day about delivering a baby and then the next day laying out the mother and baby for their funeral.
What I remember most is a comment that, if you looked at the historical documents, you wouldn't even know this woman's name. Yet, because she kept a journal, you see an intimate view of her life and the important role she held in the community. Not to me More...
What I remember most is a comment that, if you looked at the historical documents, you wouldn't even know this woman's name. Yet, because she kept a journal, you see an intimate view of her life and the important role she held in the community. Not to me More...
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Sep 24, 2011
I loved this book. I've read a good bit of history about the time, but very little about what half the population (aka women!) were doing! A Midwife's Tale gave me a view into 18th c New England that I haven't had much access to. Ulrich's choice of passages to include, and her analysis is so interesting. Martha, the diarist, is taciturn and sometimes withholding, but Ulrich teases out so much information with her extensive research of town records and other writings of the period. It's a pretty
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Apr 27, 2011
Julie
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Laurel Thatcher Ulrich's exposition of Martha Ballard's diary is illuminating. It not only reveals the nature of Ballard's life, but of the society in which she lived. More interestingly, it reveals how much new information historians can glean if they learn to read sources formerly considered too "trivial" to count. Martha Ballard's diary has been known for years, but previous historians did not consider the daily details about babies delivered, weaving performed, gardens cultivated,
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