This title hits the nail on the head when it comes to the very real problem of placing women's health care in the hands of me. I particularly enjoyed the inside glance into life in the early 20th century when abortion was illegal. I found this book to be very well researched and a bit frightening with foreshadowing of the world we are now living in.

Set in Victorian-era ( late 1800s ) New York and Baltimore, I thought this was a very fascinating read as women try to support women and their health, no matter their race or background. A lot of the issues these women faced are similar to the health worries women face today! It's a lot of history that is well researched and I found it super interesting. These women who fought to be doctors, nurses and advocates faced a lot of danger including jail and abuse. However they did not give up.
Thank you to author and Netgalley for this arc.

Thank you Netgalley. This was a fascinating read. Our main character Hannah is unbelievably strong and passionate about women and their health. The author did great job describing some of the horrendous conditions and what women has to go through. Highly recommend

Fascinating. The conditions in this era were deplorable and I hope we do not repeat history. Very well written. Many thanks to Level Best and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Jane Loeb Rubin, In the Hands of Women, Level Best Books, Independent Book publishers Association (IBPA), Members’ Titles, May 2023.

Thank you, NetGalley, for providing me with his uncorrected proof for review.

In the Hands of Women is set in New York in the early 1900s, with Hannah Isaacson, a MD in obstetrics as the central character. Not only does she suffer from discrimination against women, but antisemitism. Her public life is centred around the hospital in which she works, the prison in which she is wrongly incarcerated and her activism on behalf of women. Hannah Isaacson also has a private life in which the sexist nature of women and men’s relationships is depicted through her friendships with women and relationships with men. Her family life is also an important feature of the novel, driving an even greater understanding of the medical practices Isaacson sought to improve in relation to childbirth. Abortion, and the laws surrounding it, as well as the personal impact of abortion make graphic reading.

Hannah and her family are engaging characters, strong, supportive and warm. They are fictional, but one has her genesis in a family member. Other characters are taken from real life - John Hopkins Trustees, Mrs Garret and Mrs Thompson; New York State governors, Higgins and Hughes; and Margaret Sanger, an advocate for women. Loeb Rubin attests that the political climate and medical situation that she depicts have their basis in fact. She has researched widely, referring to the non-fiction material and research staff of museums and libraries that assisted her at the end of the novel in a bibliography and acknowledgements.

From the material that she has accumulated, and her knowledge of the 1900s social and political environment, Loeb Rubin has written a novel that is not only engaging but informative. Women doctors’ acceptance in hospitals on sufferance, and despite their education and elevated position in the paid workforce, their susceptibility to male doctors’ importunities is disturbing, but realistically drawn. The prison scenes and relationships make an excellent contribution to the debate about abortion, as well as giving Hannah Isaacson another area in which to work. At the same time, the way in which political activism can take place through seemingly small contributions is demonstrated. Class differences, in the Jewish community as well as in the wider community provide areas of debate which are met boldly by Loeb Rubin, replicating her ability to confront difficult issues is an informative and engrossing style.

In the Hands of Women is a good read, combining a host of historical information with engaging characters and a plot that works well. The novel makes and excellent contribution to historical fiction.

In the early years of the twentieth century, Dr Hannah Isaacson is an obstetrician at Johns Hopkins Medical School. One of just a handful of female doctors, Hannah, is appalled by the standard of care that women receive, especially those from the immigrant communities, and she makes it her mission to improve things. She wants to educate women about their health choices, but in a male dominated world where providing contraception is illegal, she has to deal with more and more botched abortions instead.
The subject matter is, at times, disturbing, but is necessary to convey the severity of the situation that women found themselves in. While this is a work of fiction, it is based on facts.
The characters are well rounded and believable, and the book flows beautifully. I don’t want to call it an easy read because, as I have said, the subject matter is dark at times, but it is a page turner.
Many thanks to the author, publisher and Net Galley for the chance to read this book, in exchange for an honest review.

Rubin’s historical fiction novel is set in the early twentieth century in Baltimore and New York City. Readers follow young obstetrician Hannah Isaacson from medical school at Johns Hopkins to Mount Sinai Hospital and Blackwell’s Prison as she struggles to balance work and her private life while also battling illegal abortions with the help of Mrs. Margaret Sanger. Hannah’s story is particularly fascinating and complex, as she handles period-typical struggles and challenges throughout the novel. Rubin brings several pressing contemporary social issues to light throughout the novel, from medical care, women’s health, and reproductive care to prison reform, immigration, social support networks, and the American health care system, and she handles them well, bringing the appropriate level of detail and attention to each serious subject. By focusing on such a wide breadth of issues through the lens of one particular character (Hannah Isaacson), Rubin adds a serious level of complexity and depth to the novel, and the world that she brings to life is particularly interesting and insightful. In the Hands of Women is a fascinatingly complex historical fiction novel focusing on women’s medical history and New York City at the turn of the century as the world changes and evolves around Doctor Hannah Isaacson.

A BOOK WITH HEART: ‘IN THE HANDS OF WOMEN’ BY JANE LOEB RUBIN
November 20, 2023

This novel opens in Baltimore, USA, in 1900. Hannah Isaacson is one of a small group of women admitted to Johns Hopkins Medical School, in the face of doubt and opposition from the men who dominate and control everything about healthcare and medical education, including for women. She is determined to achieve her goal of working as a qualified doctor in obstetrics.

To do so, she has to study and work hard and find a way around the demands and questionable practices from some doctors who don’t put the interests of patients first.

She becomes increasingly concerned about the rising number of women she has to deal with who are the victims of botched abortions. The stark reality of women’s lives at this time led some to choose this way of dealing with an unwanted pregnancy: middle-class and ‘society’ women to avoid shame for themselves and their families; poor women because they cannot afford another mouth to feed.

Contraceptive devices were illegal under Federal US laws at the time – women left with very few choices regarding family planning and their own health needs.

Hannah wants to work to change all this.

After she is qualified, she moves back to her home town of New York City to work in a major Jewish hospital there, and meets other women with similar aims, including the real-life Margaret Sanger, a pioneer in areas of women’s birth control and suffrage.

When Hannah tries to save the life of a woman dying after a botched abortion, she is arrested and incarcerated at the notorious Blackwell’s Workhouse, where she is horrified at appalling neglect and abuse of inmates. Her experiences here add to her determination to address the devastating effects of poverty on women, especially among the communities of immigrants pouring into New York from Europe and Ireland.

When she is finally released, she has to claw back her reputation and career, and while doing so, develops a plan to create women’s health services in the poorest parts of the city.

This is a carefully researched novel, with a mix of real-life and imagined characters. I love that part of the inspiration for one of its central women, was the author’s great-grandmother. And I enjoyed learning about the beginnings of modern hospital care and obstetric services in an important US centre and its immigrant populations, especially Jewish people from Europe escaping anti-semitism in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Hannah is a believable character. She is determined, but not without anxieties and insecurities. Her experiences with men add complications and leave her questioning her own instincts. Many readers will relate to that side of Hannah. However, despite all the challenges confronting her, she does not lose sight of her goals to better the lives of others. She is smart, sensitive and empathic. Her dealings with the men in charge of institutional funds and regulations allow her to develop some wily negotiation skills!

I enjoyed In the Hands of Women: an engrossing novel with themes and characters I could care about. There is a prequel on the way by Jane Loeb Rubin which I look forward to reading on its release.

In the Hands of Women was published by Level Best Books in May 2023.
My thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for a review copy.

Call the Midwife is one of my favorite television shows, so when I read the synopsis of In the Hands of Women, I immediately knew I would love it--and love it I did! Told through the story of fictional characters, this wonderful book deals with the history of women's medical rights of the early 20th century.

Hannah Isaacson is the heroine we all need. Set in 1900s Baltimore and NYC, this book serves as a vivid reminder of the fierce women who paved the way. Rubin's writing is gripping and had me flipping pages way past my bedtime. If you're after history, drama, and a dose of feminist spirit, this one's a must-read.
MORE: https://asianacircus.com/best-new-historical-fiction-books-to-read/
* Thank you for the ARC!

This book is fiction; however, it reads like a nonfiction title. The events seem well-researched and the book is jam-packed with historical details. The characters seemed flat at some points in the story and I thought this book was not an easy read-it did not flow. I have since read more nonfiction works about the topic which were quite informative. I will be purchasing this title for my library; however, we will not be discussing it in a book club.
This arc was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this before publication date.

I found the premise of this book to be so intriguing, however I don't think the book could decide what topics it was covering and so kind of scraped into many things in a very basic way. My understanding is it was going to be regarding women's obstetrics during that time period, however started talking about immigration, the jewish people in New York, and about the poor. It was plot driven, however all plot and the depth of the characters was missing in a way that made most of the characters seem stereotypical based on the time in history and their role in the medical profession. I ended up reading this book in small sections at a time because it did not really do anything to keep my invested. This book was just ok for me. Thanks for the ARC, NetGalley.

This was such a fantastic surprise. I’m due to begin graduate-entry medical school and have a strong background in reproductive medicine. I’ve also just recently had my first child. I couldn’t have found a better book! This book was so gripping for me. Both from the exceptionally described challenges faced by the people in early 1900s NY and the strong emphasis on women’s health and social needs. This book comes at a good time I think for women in America. All that progress made only for women’s health to have taken such a dive in the last few years. Family planning has always been an important part of women’s freedom. I hope this book inspires others to push for better policy on women’s health. It’s all demonstrated so clearly!
Jane certainly did outstanding background research for this book and I just want to thank you for giving me something soo enjoyable to read. I’m even more convinced of my own motivation into medical school. Dr Isaacson certainly is an aspiration.
Thank you to the author and NetGalley for an ARC copy.
Trigger warning for other readers: there is infant loss in the book (naturally with a story about an obstetrician, sadly).

Wow this book was incredible! I really enjoyed all aspects: the story line, the characters, the historical setting. I gained interesting insights into the world of medicine for women in the early 1900s. I also found the other topics fascinating: such as the Jewish immigration to New York at this time, along with the anti-Semitism faced, and also the plight of the poorest sections of society. I was so engrossed in the novel that I found it hard to put down, I wanted to know what was going to happen! Highly recommended.

Packed full of historical detail around the turn of the 20th century in New York mainly concentrating on women's health, birth control & midwifery, the suffrage movement & women's rights, immigration, (especially Jewish) & a few chapters in the notorious Blackwell Island (which hadn't seemed to have improved in the 20 odd years following the staged incarceration of journalist Nellie Bly) & the misogyny of the male colleagues.
Interesting read although I found it hard to empathise with the characters & the writing a little stilted in places (I think mainly due to the amount of historical detail that was crammed in!)

I have read many books with strong feminine characters. It is always exciting to read about someone that goes beyond expectations and that accomplishes great feats, especially against steeped odds. I was invested in the plot from the beginning. Nonetheless, the first part was a letdown for me. I found the character naive and boring, the story predictable and sanctimonious. But I have to say the plot developed into a much more interesting character and story. I appreciated as well the rich details that took me to New York at the turn of the century and to all levels of society. I enjoyed it overall and despite the disappointing start, I would still give it 5 stars.

Interesting topic, with hints of the gritty New York of 1900-1910. Hannah Isaacson is an interesting character who demonstrates that women are and have been ambitious at all periods of history.

3 stars because whilst the topic is interesting the book didn’t feel like it explored the topics deeply enough. It felt like a superficial recounting of a story, with an unnecessary romantic plot that added little to the story. The plot perhaps would have benefited from deeper examination of the details of the period.

In the Hands of Women, by Jane Loeb Rubin, is an intriguing historical novel that focuses on Dr Hannah Isaacson, an obstetrician in training who's working to better medical safety for women. I found this carefully researched novel so interesting. I've never been a fan of Margaret Sanger yet it was interesting to learn more about her. The book focuses on the long fight on the right for women to access birth control and the tragedies that occurred along the way.
Obstetrics and anesthesia had become distinct medical fields of practice in 1900. As hospital births became more popular, non professionally trained Midwives felt forced to boost their diminishing wages with illegal abortions. This included carrying out unsafe midterm abortions with deadly results. Dr
Hannah Isaacson is concerned about the ignorance and medical needs that she's witnessing in her patients. It doesn't seem to matter whether they're poor or wealthy. Determined to improve women's lives, she joins Margaret Sanger in the fight to repeal the restrictive Comstock Laws that prohibit women's access to birth control.

I seem to be unusual in enjoying In the Hands of Women by Jane Loeb Rubin. While I didn't think it merits a 5*, I can't explain the lower ratings of other reviewers.

Perhaps the life of Hannah Isaacson felt somewhat a "drag" at times, but it never felt a slog to continue reading. I also think perhaps that was the point - were we meant to be entertained by a subject sad by its very nature?

There were some elements that needed explaining further (the funding decision) and things (like faux newspaper cuttings) that could have broken up what can be depressing to tackle.

However, the mention of Nellie Blye and Blackwell Island was a nice overlap (I read a book that focused on that) and I would read further from this author.