Therese Oneill

A scandalously honest guide to the secrets of Victorian womanhood. "If Unmentionable does not secure the Pulitzer Prize for Most Fascinating Book Ever, the whole gig is rigged. Therese Oneill opens the doors to everything we secretly wanted to know about the Victorian era, but didn't think to ask. Knickers with no crotches? Check. Arsenic as a facial scrub? Check. The infrequency of bathing and the stench of the Victorian human body? Check mate. "Hilarious, horrifying, shocking and revelatory, Unmentionable is for every girl who pictured herself running through a field of wildflowers in a silk dress and Little House on the Prairie boots, only to discover she has nits in her hair, her clothes have never been washed and she sleeps with her poop under her bed in a bowl. A miracle of a book and one of my favorite reads ever, Unmentionable will be my go-to gift this year. All hail Therese Oneill for uncovering all of that dirty, dirty laundry." -- Laurie Notaro, #1 New York Times bestselling author of It Looked Different on the Model and Housebroken

The Victorian Lady's Guide to Sex, Marriage, and Manners

Unmentionable

From the author of the New York Times bestseller Unmentionable, a hilarious illustrated guide to the secrets of Victorian child-rearing, reminding us that the obsessive quest to create "the perfect child" has been around a long time. 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 façade 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.

Therese Oneill

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