Unmarried Motherhood in the Metropolis, 1700–1850

Samantha Williams is Senior Lecturer in Local and Regional History at the University of Cambridge, UK. She has published widely on the history of poverty and the poor law, including Poverty, Gender and Life-Cycle under the English Poor Law, 1760-1834 (2011) and Illegitimacy in Britain, 1700-1920 (2005) which she co-edited with Alysa Levene and Thomas Nutt.

1. Introduction: illegitimacy in London .- 2. Shame.- 3. Pregnant and birthing bodies.- 4. The workhouse.- 5. Maintenance.- 6. Punishment.- 7. Conclusion.- Notes.- Bibliography.-Index.

"Samantha Williams presents a clearly written, well-structured insight into unmarried mothers' experience of poor relief in eighteenth and early-nineteenth century London. ... Williams has produced useful and detailed data on the mechanisms of filiation and provision for illegitimate children and provided compelling evidence of the multiple demands that faced parishes in this period." (Kate Gibson, Family & Community History, Vol. 21 (3), 2018)

“Samantha Williams presents a clearly written, well-structured insight into unmarried mothers’ experience of poor relief in eighteenth and early-nineteenth century London. … Williams has produced useful and detailed data on the mechanisms of filiation and provision for illegitimate children and provided compelling evidence of the multiple demands that faced parishes in this period.” (Kate Gibson, Family & Community History, Vol. 21 (3), 2018)