Ungovernable

The Victorian Parent's Guide to Raising Flawless Children

By: Therese Oneill

Narrated by: Betsy Foldes Meiman, Dara Rosenberg

From the author of the "hysterically funny and unsettlingly fascinating" New York Times bestseller Unmentionable, a hilarious illustrated guide to the secrets of Victorian child-rearing (Jenny Lawson).

Feminist historian Therese Oneill is back, to educate you on what to expect when you're expecting . . . a Victorian baby! In Ungovernable, Oneill conducts an unforgettable tour through the backwards, pseudoscientific, downright bizarre parenting fashions of the Victorians, advising us on:

How to be sure you're not too ugly, sickly, or stupid to breed What positions and room decor will help you conceive a son How much beer, wine, cyanide and heroin to consume while pregnant How to select the best peasant teat for your child Which foods won't turn your children into sexual deviants And so much more.

Endlessly surprising, wickedly funny, and filled with juicy historical tidbits and images, Ungovernable provides much-needed perspective on -- and comic relief from -- the age-old struggle to bring up baby.

Critic reviews

"An entertaining look at Victorian-era parenting advice...Oneill's irreverent guide is a reality check for those who might romanticize the era of strict self-discipline and unchallenged parental authority."—The Washington Post

"While acknowledging the grim conditions of Victorian youth, Oneill offers a lighthearted romp through the more absurd side of the parenting books and trending childhood advice literature of the time. Ungovernable would make a good gift for a mom with a sense of humor."—Bust

"This wild ride through 19th-century child-rearing is an exploration of anal worms, strange tinctures, inappropriate education, child labor, and questionable food stuffs. Readers will learn the altogether shocking practices of Victorian parenthood-and be reminded that people did live to tell the tale...The author's breezy style strikes an amusing and marked contrast with the subject matter, which hopefully keeps readers focused on their successes as modern, enlightened parents-which the Victorians also considered themselves, a fact that is slyly related in delicious irony. While Oneill will likely not supplant Spock and Brazelton, she may well set parents at ease in her own hilarious way."—Booklist

"One part sauciness, one part frankness, and one part sweet relief that readers live in the present, Oneill's book provides readers with a liberal dose of medical and women's history that's well worth taking."—Publishers Weekly

PRAISE FOR UNMENTIONABLE:
"This book is full of awesome."—Jenny Lawson, #1 New YorkTimes bestselling author of FuriouslyHappy

"It's hard to imagine a woman - or a teenage girl - who won't love this book."—Washington Post

"Unmentionable transports us back to the world of middle-class 19th-century women, with special emphasis on the messy details that costume dramas airbrush out. . . . With a 4-year-old's scatological glee, Oneill details the logistics of old-time peeing, pooping, gestating, menstruating and mating . . . Oneill has dug up some lovely tidbits from the dustbin of history."—New York Times

"Flat-out hysterical (and occasionally alarming)...Read it and be very, very glad you're a woman of modern times."—Good Housekeeping

"This book will banish your silly romantic notions of life in the nineteenth century and make you laugh out loud while doing it."—BookRiot

"Both fascinating and hilarious, Oneill has created a book so excellently informative about the Victorian period, it should be shelved right next to Dickens for reference. Your stomach will hurt so much from laughing, you'll be thankful you're not wearing a corset."—Bustle

Great narration!

This book was a lot of fun even with disgusting topics like pinworms! The narrator did an amazing job.

Unexpected and Hilarious

The conversational style this book uses was rather unexpected, but really pleasant. It also has quite a few hilarious quips that made me snicker loudly at my desk.

Not as good as its predecessor

It might be because much of what was in this book isn't as surprising as one would think after learning about women's daily life in Unmentionable, but this book didn't quite have the hold on me that Unmentionable had. Still, I'd recommend this to anyone interested in the psychology behind childbearing and childrearing, and the unique way in which it is told lends more to this audible entry than most books of this type. And, the author, as before, does a good job of taking you out of contemporary thought and into the mind of a Victorian, bringing you to appreciate the difference of how you think you would feel, and how you would truly, actually feel as a true-as-blood Victorian.

The narration was lovely- the subject matter dark

This narrator was able to portray the absolute horribleness of the victorian age very well. The secondary narrator was good.

Listening to some of this was hard. Not going to sugarcoat that. The way kids were treated was horrible.

The worst chapters were the toward the end and I wish that actual people did not live through that.

I noticed that some people were not happy that this book went the route of using humor to share this information, but I think it helped get the message across.

the two narrators were hilarious

this book was so funny. Once I was listening to the audio book on Alexa and my boyfriend walked into the kitchen. He is not into learning anything about Victorian times but he couldn't stop himself from literally laughing out loud at the numerous stories facts and historical context of how victorians raise their children. I would highly recommend it for any fan of the Victorian.