Ungovernable: The Victorian Parent’s Guide to Raising Flawless Children

The wickedly funny feminist historian who brought you Unmentionable: A Victorian Lady’s Guide to Sex, Marriage, and Manners is back, to educate you on what to expect when you’re expecting … a Victorian baby.

Twenty-first century parents are drowning in theories and advice and guilt, with maybe one in a hundred managing some fa ade of success. What can we learn from our foremothers? Is it possible that the rather draconian methods of Victorian childrearing worked? Better than the ones we bend our backs to today?

Ungovernable will address parents’ concerns about raising a model Victorian child, advising you on:

• How much lager to consume while pregnant

• How to select the best peasant teat for your child

• How to choose an appropriately homely governess

• Which toys are most likely to turn your child into a sexual deviant

• And more

Consulting actual advice manuals from the 19th century, Oneill takes us on a shocking and hilarious tour through the backwards, pseudoscientific, downright bizarre childrearing fashions of the Victorians, giving us some much-needed perspective on contemporary parenting fads.