Review:
This book tells the story of Madame Restell, a highly successful 19th century abortionist in New York. Restell's real name was Ann Trow. An English immigrant who became a single mother after her husband's death, her options for earning a living for herself and her young daughter were limited. Wright explains how she went from being an English seamstress to a well-known and highly sought after French abortionist who'd supposedly received medical training in France.
While it was clear that Wright admired a lot about Restell, she was also frequently frustrated by her. This wasn't a 100% glowing portrait of the woman and her work - Restell was a complex person, and while Wright didn't accept that she was the devil that the media of her time often depicted her as, she didn't shy away from writing about Restell's less stellar actions and decisions (for example, apparent baby theft).
The sensational aspects of Restell's story, of which there were many, helped carry me through a lot of this, although I lost some reading steam about halfway through and struggled a bit to finish. I don't know what the issue was, exactly. Maybe too many moments in which Wright provided additional details about the time period or other people besides Restell that weren't strictly necessary? Maybe fatigue from the real world overlapping with my reading choices a little too much? At any rate, although my patience was wearing a bit thin by the second half, I powered through and wow, the part about Restell's death was wild.
Wright waited until the epilogue to write about her personal life and connection to Restell's story and work, and while it was powerful stuff, I imagine the folks who need to hear it wouldn't be reading this book.
Overall, despite my struggles during the second half and belief that the book would have benefited from having certain sections cut out, I found this to be a worthwhile read.
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