Distorting Darwin's evolution theory, physicians proclaimed in bestselling books that women should never be allowed to attend college or enter a profession because their menstrual cycles made them perpetually sick. Motherhood was their constitution and duty. Into the midst of this turmoil marched tiny, dynamic Mary Putnam Jacobi, daughter of New York publisher George Palmer Putnam and the first woman to be accepted into the world-renowned Sorbonne medical school in Paris. As one of the best-educated doctors in the world, she returned to New York for the fight of her life. Aided by other prominent women physicians and suffragists, Jacobi conducted the first-ever data-backed, scientific research on women's reproductive biology. The results of her studies shook the foundations of medical science and higher education. Full of larger-than-life characters and cinematically written, [this book] documents the birth of a sexist science still haunting us today as the fight for control of women's bodies and lives continues"--
Valiant and timely ... Lydia Reeder tells Putnam Jacobi’s story with uncritical enthusiasm and relies heavily on the work of previous scholars. She digresses at length into the lives of parallel figures, tangling her chronology, and she indulges in sentimental moments of seeming speculation ... With relentless hard work, hard science and sharp analysis, Putnam Jacobi changed the ancient narrative that men had written for women. Writing a better narrative for women remains an urgent task.
Monumental ... By restoring Jacobi’s fascinating story to the forefront of the historical imagination, Reeder returns to us a much-needed, inspiring voice that is equally suited to our current moment in time.
