Unmarried Motherhood in the Metropolis, 1700–1850: Pregnancy, the Poor Law and Provision By Samantha WilliamsEnglish | PDF,EPUB | 2018 | 275 Pages | ISBN : 3319733192 | 4.53 MB
In this book Samantha Williams examines illegitimacy, unmarried parenthood and the old and new poor laws in a period of rising illegitimacy and poor relief expenditure. In doing so, she explores the experience of being an unmarried mother from courtship and conception, through the discovery of pregnancy, and the birth of the child in lodgings or one of the new parish workhouses. Although fathers were generally held to be financially responsible for their illegitimate children, the recovery of these costs was particularly low in London, leaving the parish ratepayers to meet the cost.