There was a lot of interesting (and odd) information about how women's health started and evolved in the 1800s into the 1900s in this book. It focused (I think) on the life of Mary Putnam Jacobi and her quest for women to gain entry to medical schools to become doctors. I say I think because the book jumped around a lot, with many side stories and tangents that made it challenging sometimes to tell what or who I was reading about.

Men clearly have never had a clue about women or their health, and some of what actually happened is laughable. Saying that women had a disease (menstruation) that made them fragile and couldn't get an education because of it is insanity. Just for once, can women be treated like we're not some weird science experiment, but like actual human beings? And not like small men either. Humans are strange ducks. Men, women, white, black, brown, whatever... none is better than another, just slightly different biology that may or may not require slightly different medical needs.

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin for the early digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is a well-researched and investigated book about the evolution of women in medicine, primarily focusing on Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman in America to receive a medical degree. Her acceptance letter into college was intended as a practical joke, but two years later, she graduated first in her class. At times, the facts of chauvinism in medical history are a horror, at others they're simply laughable. This isn't a warm and fuzzy book, but it's interesting to read if you can handle the cold, hard facts.
Thanks so much to St. Martin’s Press for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. The publishing date is December 3, 2024.

The Cure for Women by Lydia Reeder is an informative look at the difficulties of both women in medicine and proper medical care for women during the Victorian period. Also an important look at what our current society, or at least the buffoons running the country in 2025, might be sending us back to.

If you refer to yourself as a "dude," then yes, this book might make you feel bad, but that is simply because you don't actually understand history, you pose with it. Reeder exposes the hypocrisy of the time (much of which is still with us) which means holding accountable those in charge, almost exclusively men. This is not anti-men, it is historical fact. It isn't an attack, it is explaining history and the root causes of why things were the way they were.

While this is an account of Jacobi's life it is also, as indicated by the full title, an account of women standing up for themselves and for what is just in the area of medicine. Like any history book, if you're familiar with history books, there is context so the reader can place what is happening in the core of the story within the happenings of the time. So the forays into women's suffrage and other related topics are important to grasp the bigger picture within which this medical revolution is taking place. Things don't happen in a vacuum, if you read history very much you're aware of this.

I would recommend this to those who enjoy biographies with the understanding that this is not a story about just one woman's life, even though it is the heart of the book. Actual history readers will also find a lot to appreciate (unless your little feelings are hurt), especially those interested in medical history and social history. WGS readers will also find a lot to use to supplement their approaches to various Victorian narratives.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.

"The Cure for Women," Lydia Reeder's biography of Mary Putnam Jacobi, captures the remarkable life and enduring legacy of a trailblazing physician and advocate for women's rights in medicine. Written with a vivid, almost novelistic flair, the book brings Jacobi’s pioneering spirit to life, charting her journey from a determined 17-year-old at the New York Infirmary for Women and Children to becoming one of America’s most respected medical professionals. Reeder skillfully portrays Jacobi’s unyielding dedication to scientific rigor, her fight for educational opportunities for women in medicine, and her groundbreaking achievements, including her studies in Paris and the prestigious Boylston Medical Prize-winning work on menstruation.

The narrative dives deep into Jacobi’s tireless work ethic and her multifaceted career, from her role as a professor at the Women’s Medical College of the New York Infirmary to her contributions as a social reformer advocating for suffrage and labor rights. Reeder’s account doesn’t shy away from Jacobi’s personal life, weaving in her marriage to Abraham Jacobi and the ways their partnership furthered their shared medical goals. This holistic portrayal of Jacobi as both a professional powerhouse and a deeply human figure makes her story accessible and inspiring.

While the biography occasionally veers into lengthy asides, these moments are overshadowed by the overall richness of the narrative. Reeder’s engaging writing style and thorough research ensure that Mary Putnam Jacobi’s incredible contributions to medicine and social reform receive the recognition they deserve. This is an enlightening and compelling read—a long-overdue tribute to one of history’s extraordinary women.

Remember the saying, Our Bodies Our Selves? This was not the case in medicine or most sciences in the late 1850's to early 1900. If you were a woman trying to get ahead in this world and you wanted a job and in particular as a doctor, you had a very difficult road ahead of you. There were no schools that accepted women, the culture was against women who wanted to be different. Men as a whole thought they knew more and women were frail.
This book by Lydia Reeder takes you to the Victorian/Gilded Age as women where trying to obtain the education and practice as a doctor. Reeder follows Dr. Mary Putnam Jacobi through her journey to do just that. Jacobi was a brilliant student, scientist, doctor and mother. She fought for every accomplishment as did other well known women like the Blackwell sisters.
While we gain valuable insight into Jacobi's struggles and triumphs, we also learn a lot of what America was going through at this time historically. Reeder takes us through a fairly in depth story of the suffragettes journey, which I considered an added bonus.
During this time, men were the largest obstacle in women's way. It's fascinating to read of early theories of how our bodies are different than men, the whole mensuration backstory. How other doctors plagiarized Jacobi's findings. Jacobi was triumphant as other women in knowing our bodies.

The book sheds light on the backlash from male physicians who, threatened by women entering the medical field, pushed dangerous and absurd theories to keep them out. Jacobi’s scientific work and her fight for women’s rights in medicine are inspiring and eye-opening. The narrative is easy to read and full of fascinating historical details, though it occasionally feels a bit longer than necessary. Still, it’s an engaging and thought-provoking read that highlights a critical chapter in the ongoing battle for control over women’s bodies.

The Cure for Women:
Dr. Mary Putnam Jacobi and the Challenge to Victorian Medicine That Changed Women's Lives Forever
by Lydia Reeder (This review is based on an ARC sent to me by Netgalley)

In the 19th-century United States, women who wished to become doctors had limited opportunities because they were not welcome in most American universities. Many studied in Europe where they were welcomed. One of the pioneers was doctor Mary Putnam Jacobi and her efforts to provide medical education to women in the U.S. She was a harsh critic of the discrimination against women in the medical field in the United States.
Putnam got her first chance to practice medicine from a fellow graduate, Marie Zakrzewska, who founded the New England Hospital for Women and Children in Boston in 1862.
In 1866 Putnam moved to Paris to further her medical training, and supported co-education for men and women, arguing that women's medical schools could not provide the same training and clinical practice as at established universities affiliated with large hospitals. Soon she returned to New York and organized the Association for the Advancement of the Medical Education of Women (later the Women's Medical Association of New York City) in 1872, serving as its president from 1874 to 1903. During the same period, she lectured at the Women's Medical College of the New York Infirmary for Women and Children. She became a lecturer and subsequently a professor. The author focusses on Professor Putnum. Jacobi all though there were many other pioneers who the author discusses in the book.
Jacobi was also an ardent suffragette and gave many speeches in favor of the women’s right to vote.
Jacobi often advised:” risk everything, work hard and reach for the stars, but most of all organize “

I'm not sure why I read this because I knew about this and HATED what I knew, but the way this was written was good.

I remember reading a book about Elizabeth Blackwell when I was in middle school. I learned how hard life was for women. When I saw this book I wanted to read more on this topic. I enjoyed reading about Mary Putnam Jacobi and reintroduced.to Elizabeth Blackwell. This book was fascinating, enraging, and inspiring at the same time. Thank you St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC.

I was a bit surprised at just how much I enjoyed this book. It was a very interesting back at the history between women and healthcare.

This book was such an eye-opener! It dives deep into the struggles and expectations placed on women, but in a way that feels relatable and empowering rather than heavy-handed. The writing is sharp and engaging, and I found myself nodding along, feeling seen, and even rethinking a few things. It’s the kind of book that sparks conversation and makes you want to share it with every woman you know. If you’re looking for something thought-provoking and insightful, this one’s a must-read!

After Elizabeth Blackwell became the first woman to graduate from medical school, more women demanded a chance to study medicine but they were barred entrance to universities like Harvard sowomen built their own first-rate medical schools and hospitals. Their success spurred a chilling backlash from elite, white male physicians who were obsessed with eugenics and the propagation of the white race. Distorting Darwin’s evolution theory, these haughty physicians proclaimed in bestselling books that women should never be allowed to attend college or enter a profession because their menstrual cycles made them perpetually sick. Motherhood was their constitution and duty. Into the midst of this turmoil marched tiny, dynamic Mary Putnam Jacobi, daughter of New York publisher George Palmer Putnam and the first woman to be accepted into the world-renowned Sorbonne medical school in Paris. As one of the best-educated doctors in the world, she returned to New York for the fight of her life. Aided by other prominent women physicians and suffragists, Jacobi conducted the first-ever data-backed, scientific research on women's reproductive biology. The results of her studies shook the foundations of medical science and higher education.

Full of larger than life characters, The Cure for Women documents the birth of a sexist science still haunting us today as the fight for control of women’s bodies and lives continues. This was a very detailed account of Mary Putnam Jacobi's efforts to refute all the male produced stories of women not being capable of being doctors because of their biology. It took me a while to read as I wanted to absorb all the facts and was appalled at whet the male doctors believed and wrote without any real evidence. Anyone interested in women's fight for equality should read this book. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for granting my request. I had read other books about women's fight to become doctors, but had never read the "why" of their struggle in such detail until reading this book. I highly recommend.

This was very complex and very long. I like nonfiction but I felt like I was reading for a college class, not reading for entertainment.

“In 1873, the Comstock laws made all forms of birth control illegal and by 1880 nearly all states had outlawed abortion. None confronted the fact that when embryos and fetuses were protected s fully human, the lives of women became dehumanized and incidental.”

This book was fascinating, enraging and inspiring. The Blackwell sisters, Mary Putnam Jacobi, etc were the trailblazers of women in medicine and it’s unfortunate that it would take 100 years after they started their careers in medicine for discrimination on the basis of sex to be outlawed. Until Title IX, only 6% of doctors were women, now more than 60% of doctors under the age of 35 are women, and 85% of obgyns are women.

This is such a triumph, because not only did gilded age doctors want to prevent female doctors, but they discredited and destroyed the profession of midwifery to line their own pockets.

The history of the criminalization of abortion is also critical to this story, as male doctors who supported the eugenics movement discovered that the majority of women obtaining abortions were married white women, they began to criminalize the practice.

This book could not be more timely as abortion rights are repealed across America. The author’s final phrase sticks out with me the most: “Risk everything, work hard and reach for the stars. But most of all, organize”

A well-researched, engaging and fascinating historical account of medical strides made by strong pioneering women.

In this brilliant new book about the history of women in medicine in the nineteenth century, Lydia Reeder introduces readers to Mary Putnam Jacobi, the first woman accepted by the Sorbonne medical school in Paris and an incredibly educated and trailblazing doctor. Following her work on women’s reproductive biology with suffragists and other women physicians, readers will discover the dramatic implications of her groundbreaking research and medical career in this detailed, immersive, and fascinating history of the sexism baked into science and healthcare. Deeply relevant to modern readers, Lydia Reeder has done a fantastic job bringing the overlooked story of Dr. Putnam Jacobi to life in this complex, well-researched, and well-written new women’s history book. In bringing the stories of Dr. Putnam Jacobi and her contemporaries in the women’s rights movement and the integration of women into the medical field to readers, Reeder has expanded the historiography of women in medicine beyond Elizabeth Blackwell and her notable contributions, a necessary and important step for women’s history. With so much historical documentation in this book, readers will greatly appreciate the depth of information and the integration of historical sources in this marvelous new history book because reading about Mary Putnam Jacobi’s research in her own words cannot be replicated.

“The Cure for Women” is a wide-ranging exploration into women’s quest to become medical doctors, the barriers they faced, and the challenges of providing medical care for women that is scientifically based. Author Lydia Reeder does an excellent job detailing the travails of early female doctors and the interconnectedness of their small community. Alternately supportive and competitive, these women fought tooth and nail to take their rightful place in medical history.

At its heart “The Cure for Women” is not just about Dr. Mary Putnam Jacobi, but about women’s roles in society, their right to an education, their medical treatment by the male-dominated medical establishment, and the changes that strong-willed women worked towards for decades. As Reeder says in the Epilogue to this book, Putnam Jocobi’s story is timely as we witness the ways that women’s minds and bodies are still under attack.

The book alternately makes the reader angry at the historical treatment of women and joyful that women persevered in the face of great challenges to improve the medical profession, their access to education, and women’s health. Dr. Putnam Jacobi’s steadfastness in pursuit of her goals to get women a place in medicine and improve the lives and rights of women is inspirational and aspirational.

This book is great for readers who enjoy women’s histories and medical history.

I received an advance review copy for free from Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

One of my favorite things about non-fiction is the unexpected side trip an author sometimes takes. This book, for example, included a section about the author Charlotte Perkins Gilman ("The Yellow Wallpaper") and her challenges with depression and the abusive treatment she underwent at the hand of the male doctor who was one of the villians of the main story. I really enjoyed this and many other aspects of this account of the Victorian-era women who battled for the right to train and work as doctors in the US.
Reeder obviously feels passionately about her subject but this sometimes causes her to lose some objectivity. I don't think that everyone who questions the practice of abortion hates women. But Reeder seems to. She never allows anyone who stood in the way of her heroines to be misguided or undereducated. They're just evil.
This is a small thing though. Overall I liked the book, I learned a great deal about the history of women's rights, and I have a new group of women, Mary Putnam Jacobi and others, which I admire tremendously for what they sacrificed for all women who came after them.

4+ important historical stars, not rounded up

The Cure for Women is an important historical work about women physicians and the barriers they faced. Women need to remember how far they’ve come and be wary of never regressing with their hard-earned rights. We also need to remember those who helped bring us this far. The book mentions Dr. Putnam Jacobi knowing suffragettes like Susan B. Anthony and the Blackwell sisters (doctors), but I had not heard of Mary Putnam Jacobi before. I am glad I got to read about her Dr. Jacobi’s life and work.

The author writes, “In a Victorian culture that valued women as ornamental birthing machines, the cutting-edge, evidence-based medicine Jacobi practiced was an act of disobedience. Her scientific research dismantled the myths about women’s bodies spread by men, transformed medicine, and laid the groundwork for the future advancements of women including suffrage. It was a turning point for women struggling to be seen as fully human. Jacobi became one of the most important physicians, male or female, of the nineteenth century. Her amazing accomplishments remain mostly unrecognized today.” Reeder’s research is amazing. The non-fiction narrative style she uses cites first-person resources extensively.

Just as the subtitle got a bit long, (Dr. Mary Putnam Jacobi and the Challenge to Victorian Medicine That Changed Women's Lives Forever), so did the book. The Publisher says it’s 336 pages long; I don’t know if that includes 25% of my Advanced Reader Copy which is research footnotes. I think the book seemed long because there were some tangents besides Victorian Medicine and the topic of women’s health history is a serious topic.

I was dismayed at the male doctors who experimented on enslaved women (gynecology) without anesthesia, and the ‘rest cure’ for mental ailments/ depression that completely took away women’s autonomy and made things worse.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Stunning in its detail. Important, shocking, and moving, it is the story of the first women in medicine, moving from midwifery to physicians. Their journey is inspiring. But the equal bravery of the women upon whom male physicians performed surgery is horrifying in what they were subjected to. This is an essential book on more than just the evolution of the practice of medicine. It also reveals the venality of misogyny illuminating not only what was, and which has not been eliminated, but also how far we’ve come and the tension between Doe and post-Doe attitudes toward women in the public discourse. A important look at progress.