Imaginary body parts

    I'm fascinated by imaginary body parts: things which people used to believe existed, but which we no longer accept. I've recently read Naomi Alderman's novel The Power, which is based on the notion of a new part, the 'skein', developing in women and allowing them to zap men. Back in 2012, the Queen’s…

Stone Babies: The Lithopedion of Sens

When Colombe Chatry, a tailor’s wife, died in May 1582 at the age of 68, at her husband’s request her body was opened up to discover what had happened to a pregnancy she had started 28 years earlier, which had never come to anything but had left her with years of abdominal pain and loss…

The bespoke midwife

When do you call the midwife? In the 18th century, men gradually moved into the field of normal birthing. They did this by being 'bespoke' - prebooked.

Four weird ideas people used to have about women’s periods

What did menstrual bleeding mean to the people of the past? And what expectations did that raise?