It is not a common occurrence to see a work of fiction cited in this publication. I have nothing against it, mind you; one of my academic degrees is in English literature. It’s simply that I don’t often happen upon novels that are both well written and whose authors are well-versed in natural history, the history of science (including medicine), or a similarly related field of study.
However as the result of attending (hearing? sitting? – what is the correct word to use now to indicate ones presence at a lecture delivered entirely online?) the 2021 Darwin College Lecture “Transitional Bleeding in Early Modern England” delivered by Dr. Sara Read on the subjects of the physiological, social, and linguistic aspects menstruation in early modern England, I learned that Dr. Read had recently written a novel titled The Gossips’ Choice that depicted the life, work, and challenges of a midwife in mid-seventeenth century England.
Given Dr. Read’s extensive expertise in this period, her particular areas of scholarly interest, and the verbal skill with which she delivered her lecture, it is very reasonable to assume that this may well indeed be a novel that satisfied my criteria for inclusion here. Of course, I wouldn’t even have written this much had I not already obtained a copy and begun reading it to test this assumption. Look for further thoughts about it to be expressed here in the near future.
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