Madame Restell: The Life, Death, and Resurrection of Old New York's Most Fabulous, Fearless, and Infamous Abortionist by Jennifer Wright

 

Summary (from the publisher): “This is the story of one of the boldest women in American history: a self-made millionaire, a celebrity in her era, a woman beloved by her patients and despised by the men who wanted to control them.”

 
In Madame Restell, readers are instantly transported to the glamorous mansions and bejeweled carriages of pre-Gilded Age New York, where they meet our eponymous heroine: the city’s premiere abortionist. An industrious woman who built her business from the ground up, Restell was a self-taught surgeon on the cutting edge of healthcare, and her bustling “boarding house” provided birth control, abortions, and medical assistance to thousands of women—rich and poor alike. As her practice expanded, her notoriety swelled, and Restell established herself as a prime target for tabloids, threats, and lawsuits galore. But far from fading into the background, she flaunted her wealth defiantly, parading across the city in designer duds and expensive jewelry, rubbing her success in the faces of the many politicians, publishers, religious zealots, and male competitors determined to bring her down.

Unfortunately for Madame Restell, her rise to the top of her field coincided with “the greatest scam you’ve never heard about”: the campaign to curtail women’s power by restricting their access to healthcare. For centuries, midwives and female practitioners, like Restell, had tended to public healthcare needs of both men and women. But after the birth of the medical clinic, newly-minted male MDs were eager to edge out their feminine competition—by forcing women back into the home and turning medicine into a standardized, male-only practice. At the same time, a group of powerful, secular men—threatened by women’s burgeoning independence in other fields—persuaded the Christian leadership to declare abortion a sin, rewriting the meaning of “Christian morality” to protect their own interests. By unraveling the misogynistic and misleading lies that put women’s health in jeopardy, Wright simultaneously restores Restell to her rightful place in history and obliterates the faulty, fractured reasoning underlying the very foundation of what has since been dubbed the “pro-life” movement.

Thought-provoking, character-driven, boldly written, and feminist as hell, Madame Restell is required reading for anyone and everyone who believes that when it comes to women’s rights, women’s bodies, and women’s history, women should have the last word.

Review: This was an interesting slice of Gilded Age history. Madame Restell was born Ann Trow in England. While she was initially employed as a servant and a seamstress but eventually started making money through pills she sold to women to induce abortions. After her first husband died and left her a single mother of her daughter Caroline, Madame Restell displayed her formidable entrepreneurial spirit. She was a self-made millionaire who seems to have been kind and caring to women who came to her for help. She was notorious within the city and did face legal action and was castigated by many who believed her actions were immoral. But there is no doubt that she did help hundreds of women and provided a critical service in a very safe way. 

The author makes a strong case for the many working-class women that Madame Restell helped. During this time period, it was regrettably commonplace for servant class women to be assaulted or taken advantage of by employers. In the absence of reliable birth control, these women had little recourse to avoid pregnancy. And for women during this time period, the consequences of pregnancy were dire. Women would and did end up on the streets where they often died prematurely. Their offspring could expect little better. Madame Restell offered a means of safe abortion on a sliding pay scale so they could maintain their position and avoid destitution and social ostracism. But she certainly was no martyr. She did help women, but she was absolutely a businesswoman and got into the trade when she saw it was a way to be prosperous. I think the author tried a bit too hard to make it out that Madame Restell was this benevolent figure crusading for women's choice and freedom, when in reality I think she was primarily looking for a profitable profession, with being kind to women in need coming in second place. 

This was an interesting biography of an infamous figure who I had never heard of before picking up this book. But it did have a lot of filler chapters that dived into related historical topics from the time period such as women's health, the history of abortion, etc. that did not tell specifically with Madame Restell. It felt like it was all added just to make this book length. But all in all, an interesting look at the underbelly of New York society. 

I listened to the audiobook version, which was well done and easy to follow and stay engaged, which is something that I can't always say about non-fiction audiobooks. 

Stars: 4