A 1950s Mother

A nostalgic look at what it was really like to be a 1950s mother and how the baby-boom generation was made.

Embarking on motherhood was a very different affair in the 1950s to what it is today. From how to dress baby (matinee coats and bonnets) to how to administer feeds (strictly four-hourly if following the Truby King method), the child-rearing methods of the 1950s are a fascinating insight into the lives of women in that decade. In The 1950s Mother author, mother and grandmother Sheila Hardy collects heart-warming personal anecdotes from those women, many of whom are now in their eighties, who became mothers during this fascinating post-war period.

From the benefits of 'crying it out' and being put out in the garden to gripe water and Listen with Mother, the wisdom of mothers from the 1950s reverberates down the decades to young mothers of any generation and is a hilarious and, at times, poignant trip down memory lane for any mother or child of the 1950s.

16 b/w illustrations

About the Author

Sheila Hardy was a teacher and lecturer of English and History before becoming first a wife and mother and then a full-time writer. She has written several biographies of notable women, including Anne Candler, Frances, Lady Nelson and, most recently, cookery writer Eliza Acton. She has also written numerous histories of her native Suffolk and has given talks in the county for over 30 years. She lives in Ipswich.