Victorian and early 20th century baby farming : the darkest business

Author / Creator

Bacon, Eve, author

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Summary

Mrs. Amelia Dyer was probably the most notorious baby farmer, but she was not working in isolation. The wider story of the myriad of others also classed as baby farmers is told here. Detailing the ...

Mrs. Amelia Dyer was probably the most notorious baby farmer, but she was not working in isolation. The wider story of the myriad of others also classed as baby farmers is told here. Detailing the stories of over 100 baby farmers, the good, the bad and the murderous, it looks at why baby farming became so prevalent during the Victorian period. Why did so many mothers choose to hand their babies over to the care of these people, usually, women? What 'care' was meted out to the innocent victims of these crimes? How did baby farmers come to the notice of the authorities, and how did the police track down the perpetrators of this darkest of businesses? What were the punishments meted out to them? And how, eventually, the practice was brought to an end?

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