Once Elizabeth Blackwell broke the glass ceiling and became the first women to graduate medical school, more women demanded the chance to study medicine. In America, men did their best to prevent this so women with means traveled to Europe, getting degrees in France and returning to practice and teach other women. In The Cure For Women Lydia Reeder introduces readers to a few of these early medical pioneers and the challenges they faced, then focuses the rest of the book through Mary Putnam and her research, challenges, and advances.

Like many of the early women who were able to travel to Europe to become doctors, Putnam was from a wealthy family (she was the eldest daughter of publisher George Putnam), though money alone never smoothed all her ways. A combination of money, charm, brilliance, stubbornness, and a refusal to fail when she knew she was in the right were the characteristics needed of all of the early women doctors, and Mary had most of these in spades.

I knew when I started this book I was going to spend a lot of it angry or fustrated by the challenges men placed in the way of women trying to reach their highest potential. I was blown away by the arrogance shown by many of the male doctors in these pages. There are doctors who treat surgery like a grand spectacle to show off their skills, doctors who refuse anesthesia to their female patients for a variety of horrific reasons. Doctors who seem to genuinely believe women aren't capable of the thought necessary for anything because of their menstral cycles, and plenty of men willing to use (and distort) Darwin's theories to promote eugenics for their own ends to control women's bodies.

It was fascinating to watch doctors like Mary Putnam Jacobi develop theories and entire processes that we now take for granted (like surveys of patients) to begin undertanding and developing new sciences of the time- hygiene, pediatrics, and women's health and gynecology. But more interesting to me was watching them take these sciences and common sense and begin to apply them to the fight for women's rights across a large spectrum of issues, such as voting and education. Jacobi became a proponent of educating women equally to men, preferrably in equal settings, and she worked with all the big names of the era in women's suffrage to fight for the causes she believed in.

The Cure for Women is overall a really interesting and well-written book, certainly well researched, accessible to everyone. I do wish the author had used more quotes from the writings of Jacobi and the other women involved to help us get more into their heads, but that's my only real complaint.

For anyone interested in the development of medical science in the nineteenth century, women's education and fight for equality, or readers of Olivia Campbell's Women in White, The Cure for Women is a book to add to the TBR list!

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

The barriers that females had to break down in order to be doctors in the Victorian age was astounding. The story and struggles of these first women: Elizabeth and Emily Blackwell, Ann Preston, Marie Zakrzewska, and especially Mary Putnam are expertly told in this book. While most of the book centers on Dr. Putnam Jacobi, the stories of the prominent male doctors who helped form public opinion against women participating in any sphere outside the home, especially medicine, are delved into as well. I found their stories to be equally interesting even though it was difficult to stomach the thoughts and words they expressed. What I found the most fascinating, (and so much of this book is) was the written reactions of the women at the time to these pigheaded men. I didn’t realize any women expressed those thoughts that sounded more like what a woman would have said during the women’s movement of the 60’s and 70’s. But this was 100 years earlier! Dr. Jacobi was a master at the retort. These early female doctors worked tirelessly to get themselves and other women in the profession and with the highest standards employed. The drama and politics involved was truly fascinating.
The tangents that the author includes are all extremely interesting, so I didn’t care when it seemed the main story of Dr. Jacobi was repeatedly absent for several pages.
I give this book 5 stars for all but the last 2 and 1/2 pages. Dr. Mary Putnam Jacobi passed away 118 years ago. Even the author can’t speak for Mary’s beliefs on the current research on gender and the recent Supreme Court case because the current medical data may have led her to a different conclusion.
I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for my opinion. I highly recommend it!

This book was both fascinating and depressing. I loved reading about Dr. Mary Putnam Jacobi - what a fascinating and intelligent woman she was. She contributed so much to the advancement of medicine, and the care of women. What was depressing was how full circle this has all become. This book started in the mid 1800's and men thought they knew best about women's bodies. They took away the right to abortion and made it an imprisonable offense for both the mother and doctor. The men felt that the baby's life was more important than the mother's life. Women were considered less than, and their value was as a wife and mother only. Does this sound familiar? I think every woman should read this book. It should scare you, but it should also empower you.

The Cure for Women: Dr. Mary Putnam Jacobi and the Challenge to Victorian Medicine that Changed Women’s Lives Forever is an intense book, one that will stay with you long after you have finished reading. We all think we know how difficult it was for woman to be accepted into roles that were traditionally reserved for men, but it’s very powerful to read so many stories and instances of the times women were thwarted again and again, regardless of how competent, talented, or dedicated they were. How very few men would stand up for or beside them.

Equally powerful and thought-provoking is the revelation of just how often and in so many underhanded ways they were discriminated against, harassed, forced out by other physicians, hospitals, institutions of higher learning. You can’t help but admire and be in awe of these strong, brave women who dared to step out of bounds.

The Cure for Women is enthralling and almost impossible to put down once you start reading. I recommend it. I received an advance copy via NetGalley. I voluntarily leave this review; all opinions are my own.

The Cure for Women: Dr. Mary Putnam Jacobi and The Challenge to Victorian Medicine That Changed Women's :oves Forever is one crazy but true deep dive into real events of the history of how women fought, and fought hard, for every inch of the right to learn and practice medicine, and boy oh boy are we living the ramifications of that fight. The book starts out with the frontrunners that helped pave the way for Mary Putnam to follow, but Mary Putnam also did not have an easy time of it. She broke through barriers that her predecessors couldn't, but also paved the way for women following behind her. This reads more like a well researched biography of Dr. Mary Putnam Jacobi than a historical fiction novel, but it's well worth diving into and reading for yourself. Unbelievably true!!! Job well done!
*I received a copy of this book from NetGalley. This review is my own opinion*

I downloaded this title expecting historical fiction, but it reads like a documentary. I would've enjoyed it more as fiction based on history.

This is an interesting and informative, well-written work of non-fiction. It is thoroughly researched and contains fascinating facts pertaining to women's health from the mid to late 19th century, and vividly describes the strides made by the ground breaking physician, Mary Putnam Jacobi. Ms. Reeder does an excellent job integrating medical facts, procedures and beliefs and the biography of Dr. Jacobi with the events of the time period. Many thanks to St. Martin's Press, Ms. Reeder, and NetGalley, from whom I received an advanced reader copy of this enlightening book. This is my honest opinion.

A non fiction novel about a female Victorian doctor, doctor Dr. Mary Putnam Jacobi and her work to try and make medicine before and safer for women.

As a women who is attending medial school beginning next fall, I was completely moved by this book. Dr. Mary Putnam Jacobi was born in the wrong time where women were expected to stay at home and raise kids instead of a career in science. When she was admitted to a medical school in France, it led to first scientific study on women's reproductive health. Although life wasn't easy for her, she pioneered the way for future women in medicine. This book was were compelling and is a must read for anyone pursuing medicine.

My thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advance copy of this book that looks at the beginnings of women entering the medical professions as doctors, and how this simple act changed history in many different ways.

In the early 2000's I worked for a magazine in the editorial department where did a little bit of everything, include oversee the intern program. I always thought this was a joke or a rib, as I was and remain a pretty shy person, and really shouldn't be showing anyone anything. But no one else wanted to do it, and my editor thought I was very good at it. One of the interns was a young lady I will call Jennifer. Jennifer was great, asked good questions, picked things up quick, and was funny. One day I showed her something and said casually I'll let you get started on this, you are smart and I know you'll figure it out. Any questions, I'll be over there. Jennifer came over a few minutes later and said, you are the first person to ever say that I was smart. I was really confused. She was and probably still is smart, but I couldn't understand no one ever told her that. Your parents never called you smart?, I asked. No. Pretty, attractive cute, never smart. This blew my mind, and made me pay attention to things, things that I had never thought of being a white male. Never to be called anything but pretty or cute, meanwhile, Jennifer was smarter than I was, that was apparant. I might have been funnier. One can see the genesis for a lot of these ideas, ideas that seem so Victorian but are still prevalent today in this book by Lydia Reeder. The Cure for Women: Dr. Mary Putnam Jacobi and the Challenge to Victorian Medicine That Changed Women's Lives Forever, is a history of women in the field of medicine, but is so much more. One can see the growth of thoughts that trap women, that education effects a woman's chance to have a healthy child, that white people are being replaces, thoughts and ideas that linger like many of the bacteria that clung to male surgeons, in a foolish thought that gentlemen couldn't get dirty. Ideas that are still killing women today.

The book begins with a huge kerfuffle as a woman graduates a medical school, to much consternation. Elizabeth Blackwell was the first woman to push her way into medical school, and instead of letting more women try, schools changed policies, men threw things at woman, and even laws were enacted. Thanks to the efforts of many groups Quakers, rich patrons and more ways were found around these gatekeepers, and soon women were entering the field. Doctor Mary Putnam Jacobi had gone to medical school in America and so traveled to Paris to attempt to get into the Sorbonne, which was just as regulated as America schools. There Putnam was able to attend and soon returned to America, marrying Doctor Jacobi, a premiere pediatrician, who really started the whole field of children's medicine. Jacobi returned to an America full of fear. Abortions were being banned, and medical professionals were talking about women's health issues, without understanding, but instead using this to limit women's entry into the field of medicine, and almost everything else outside of the kitchen. Soon Putnam and a group of allies began to use both medical knowledge, testing, and real science, to fight back, and in many ways changed life in the United States.

As I read this book I could not believe that this took place almost 150 years ago. There is so much that is used today, women can't do this, they can't learn, they can't fight, they get moody. If they are allowed body autonomy, well the white race will die. This sounds like most podcasts right now, not lecture series in unair-conditioned halls with tons of cigar smoke and lots of hurumphs. Lydia Reeder has done a fantastic job in writing this book. Making the medical science understandable, doing the research, and making these characters come alive. I have not been so hooked on a nonfiction book in quite awhile, one that seems both old and fresh at the same time. Reeder portrays the women who just want to help others, the men who don't want to share their clubs, and the always present grifters trying to make a buck in a way that makes one understand them, even if one disagrees. Oh there are a lot of disagreeable people in this book. Most would be at home in the new administration, and make a lot of woman cover their glasses at any social event. A really wonderful book that tells so much of how we have arrived at where we are now, and how history is never new.

A book that should be read and shared. I kept talking about this book to anyone as I read it. So many interesting stories, from Paris under siege, to learning to clean hands after surgery, to having to have a wedding license while pregnant and looking for treatment. One of the best books I have read this year, and one I will suggest to as many people as I can.

This is a compellingly written history of women’s medical education in America, focusing largely on Dr. Mary Putnam Jacobi, whose career and scientific contributions were truly groundbreaking in the 1800s. The book also touches on closely related topics like women’s health and women’s education in general. For nonfiction reads, I’m usually looking for a topic that interests me as well as writing that is engaging enough to keep that interest sparked. I definitely found both in this book. It’s also clearly meticulously researched, judging by the immense number of citations. It was also fascinating to see how things have - and have not – changed in terms of women’s lives, women’s rights, and women’s health, particularly with recent events in mind. The author has a clear viewpoint, treating the old-fashioned notions of women’s capabilities that were widely considered facts 1800s with the contempt they deserve.

Content warnings are what you might expect from a history of female doctors, women’s health, and women’s rights: abortion, extreme misogyny, institutionalized sexism and racism.

Reeder did an excellent amount of research for "The Cure for Women". The references used were beneficial throughout the book while also leading to other texts that could be of interest on this topic. I am interested in this topic being a woman in a highly male-dominated field. Reading about what Women fought for, overcame, and have continued to do so puts it into perspective. I normally enjoy these books and finish them quickly however about halfway the book seemed to take some tangents that did not seem needed. There were also times when the number of details was overwhelming in comparison to the value-added.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read the advanced copy. I will normally only do reviews Amazon, Instagram, and Goodreads if the rating is 4 or 5 stars. However, if you'd like me to add this review I will.

As I read this book, my emotions swung between being very pissed off to realizing that things haven’t changed that much in over a hundred years for women’s health.

Unfortunately, for me, I was reading this book during the weeks leading up to the 2024 election of the new president of the United States. As women’s health was being discussed as a campaign issue, the more I read this book, the more I realized that the battle for women’s health isn’t a new issue and one that won’t likely be settled in my lifetime.

Dr. Mary Putnam Jacobi was born in 1842 and was determined to be a doctor at a time when no medical school in the United States would take female students. In fact, one prevailing thought was that any mental or physical exertion during menstruation could render a woman infertile. This opinion was touted by Dr. Edward H. Clarke in his book Sex in Education; or, A Fair Chance for the Girls, published in 1875. This book, among other books and essays, was used to keep women out of higher education and relegate women to second class status.

Despite being the first woman to graduate from the New York College of Medicine and graduating from the Female Medical College of Pennsylvania, she felt that she needed further training in the medical arts. She moved to Europe and, through pure determination and some luck, managed to graduate from l’École de Médecine in Paris, France.

Once she achieved her goal of earning a medical degree, she moved back to America and established her own medical practice, all the while being an active participant in women’s suffrage. She authored many books, articles, and essays ranging from medical issues to those of society. While not as well-know as the first American physician Elizabeth Blackwell, Mary Putnam Jacobi had a lasting effect on both medicine and society.

As a final act of her dedication to science, upon discovering she had a brain tumor, she wrote a detailed account of her disease progression in “Description of the Early Symptoms of the Meningeal Tumor Compressing the Cerebellum. From Which the Writer Died. Written by Herself.”

As a side note, the MGM feature film The Girl in White (23 Jun 1952), based on Bowery to Bellevue: The Story of New York's First Woman Ambulance Surgeon (10 Oct 1950), the memoirs of the pioneering female surgeon Emily Dunning Barringer is about the first female ambulance surgeon taking place in New York in the early 1900s. During her time in the hospital taking care of patients, she is mentored by an older female doctor, Dr. Marie Yoemans, played by actress Mildred Dunnock. Dr. Yoemans was apparently modeled after Dr. Mary Putnam Jacobi. I have seen this movie and remembered the character of Dr. Yoemans. I also recall that I was saddened when the character sat down on a chair and died of some kind of cardiac ailment.

I found The Cure for Women: Dr. Mary Putnam Jacobi and the Challenge to Victorian Medicine That Changed Women’s Lives Forever by Lydia Reeder to be a well-written book about a woman who helped forge the way for both women as doctors as well as women’s medical health. I would recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in American medical history, the history of women in the United States, or both.


4/5 stars

[Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the advanced ebook copy in exchange for my honest and objective opinion, which I have given here.]

The Cure for Women: Dr. Mary Putnam Jacobi and the Challenge to Victorian Medicine That Changed Women's Lives Forever by Lydia Reeder is an interesting look at a dark history of how medicine was once conducted for women. I really enjoyed the history because it gives important context for why things were done a certain way. Ultimately, this book became incredibly political. I think the history speaks for itself and the book would have been a much more powerful work without this twist. I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher with no obligations. These opinions are entirely my own.

What vital reading, in a time when women's hard-won rights are yet again under threat from a culture obsessed with eugenics and the propagation of the white race. This book infuriated and galvanized me, let it do the same for you.

This was a wonderfully-researched and nuanced look at Victorian medicine and the women who advanced it. The Victorian Age was such a fascinating--but kinda horrible--time for women. They were constantly being thrown in asylums and criticized for being "hysterical" (which wasn't true). It was a rough time to be a woman, and the author does a great job of showing the way women were treated and giving us solid, historical information without it being boring. I really liked this book.

Fascinating. Dr, Mary Putnam Jacobi deserves our admiration and thanks for her determination and persistence. She was a pioneer in the subject of women's biology and health but she's little known today. And that's a shame. This well written biography should change that. Reeder brings her to life and makes clear the differences she made and the impact her research continues to have. This could have been dry but it's not- clearly Reeder who did significant research-also likes her subject. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. Excellent read.

This highlights how women had to fight for the ability to practice medicine and become doctors in a world where men were only accepted. This focuses primarily on Mary Putnam Jacobi but also talks about other pioneers such as Elizabeth and Emily Blackwell. This is a tribute to these inspiring women.

Thoughts 💭
There is so much to digest with this book! I loved how Mary Jacobi Putnam was the main focus, but time was also spent on other pioneers such as the Blackwell sisters and Marie Zakrzewska. Men who worked against them were highlighted as well to emphasize how hard these women had to fight. They are truly heros and deserve to be remembered. I really suggest everyone read this if not to see how far women have come but how much farther we still have to go. There were so many things that stuck out to me, but this really hit home:

"It was the first time a doctor had publicly elevated the fetus above the mother’s well-being. Storer’s moral argument was drawn from racial fears that eventually inspired what was known as the “science”of eugenics: a social movement aimed at perfecting the human species by increasing the population with “desirable”genetic traits and reducing those with “undesirable”traits by forced sterilization. In their attempts to control the birth rate, safeguard the racial health of white people, and purge society’s defectives, eugenicists primarily targeted women. Storer asked whether the United States would “be filled by our own children or by those of aliens? This is a question that our own women must answer; upon their loins depends the future destiny of the nation.” Criminalizing abortion would put control of women’s reproduction in the hands of male doctors and politicians and tip the racial balance in the white man’s favor."

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

The Cure for Women by Lydia Reeder is not what I had hoped for. It quickly became overtly political, which caused me to lose interest. To elevate women above men is not equality (and I am a woman). As it was not the book for me, I did not finish it.

This book started out to be a real joy for me as it went into great depths of the struggles of women who wanted to enter the world of medicine by becoming doctors. This was a man’s world and women were not welcomed. The book was highly researched and I learned a lot but after about three fourths of it I found my interest was just not holding. The book highlights the life of Mary Putman Jacobi who was the daughter of George Palmer Putman, the New York publisher. It detailed her struggle for admittance to any college in this country and also dealt with the treatment of women in that era. The mental procedures were brutal and the details that she brought out were awful. I felt the author strayed from her original purpose and wished she had stayed on the path of the journey of acceptance. The mental health issues were interesting and terrifying but it took away from the main point of the story. That is another subject for another book I think and I just wished she had stayed with her original intent.

I wish to thank Net Galley and St. Martin’s Press for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book. I have voluntarily read and reviewed this advanced copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own