Here on the Dittrick Blog, we've begun a series on body-snatching for the purpose of anatomy... but today, we'd like to interrupt that history with another, equally fascinating but focused on the other end of the life spectrum. It's National Midwifery Week, and today we present the history of a "woman in a man's world," the midwife Madame du Coudray.
Angelique Marguerite Le Boursier du Coudray (1712-1790) was the “King’s Midwife” in France. And yet, Madame du Coudray left no journal and few personal papers, meaning that while her deeds are well-recorded, her life is still somewhat mysterious. She remained...