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Bloomsbury Continuum has acquired Born: A Global History of Childbirth by historian and writer Lucy Inglis.
Tomasz Hoskins, publisher, signed world all rights from Jason Bartholomew at The BKS Agency, with publication scheduled for May 2025.
The synopsis explains: “Born is a global history of how we are born – from the prehistoric art and sculpture celebrating new life, to the Netherlandish 16th century printer Jan Van Rymsdyk who produced the first medical guide at great personal risk, to Queen Victoria’s surgeon up to the treatments of today. She visits London hospitals, spends time with Amish communities in Ohio, and speaks of her own story which sets this whole book in motion.
“Born is also a narration of the female struggle, not for equality, but to govern their own bodies and its ability to reproduce; it explores how men have striven for control over pregnancy and birth since the times of ancient civilisation. This is a fascinating account of the medical, scientific, political and social changes that influence childbirth.”
Inglis, who is a historian and creator of an award-winning Georgian London blog, said: “Born is now more than 13 years of research in the making. A book that was difficult to write, but one I know and hope will inform people about their own experiences, and the history that lies behind things that are often left unspoken. I have given my heart to this book and it has found a wonderful home. This is how we are born.”
Hoskins said: “Like so many others I have loved Lucy’s remarkable history writing for years. This extraordinary subject, illustrated with the compelling details and stories that are her trademark, is the sort of ambitious and emotionally compelling history we love to publish.”