An important social history tracked through personal stories that need to be heard, and will soon be beyond memory. They are not all harrowing. Compassion breaks through the stony ground

The great surprise in Jane Robinson's new history of mid-century illegitimacy is how long these opinions - the children may be blameless, but assisting them would mean condoning the intemperance of their mothers - persisted. Robinson has made contact with 100 unmarried mothers and their progeny and deftly interweaves their stories with the political and institutional history

A tragic litany of society's readiness to blame the most vulnerable for their own misfortunes . . . In the Family Way is full of heart-wrenching stories of young women kept in ignorance of the facts of life. Robinson has a good eye for the human story and the affecting detail that brings alive the hypocritical moral landscape of the period

Robinson has worked to give back a voice to those not traditionally allowed one . . . Taken together, the individual stories of secrecy and enforced separation form a powerful testament to the hypocrisy and cruelty of our culture

[In the Family Way's] heart is firmly in the right place. It is a book that makes a woman want to reach for an AK47 to avenge the past; or at the very least to buy a copy to politicize their daughters

The closer Robinson's survey comes to our own day, the more shocking it grows . . . In the Family Way is not, incidentally, without its funny side. I particularly enjoyed this

Jane Robinson has managed to elicit over 100 personal accounts of illegitimacy and it is these letters and interviews that give the book its force - that, and the author's manifest warm-heartedness. The book is grounded in testimonies from real people - heartbreaking, some of them

In the Family Way is both engaging and incredibly moving and will strike a profound chord with many readers

Riveting . . . Part of the book's charm is its subtle interweaving of personal accounts with astute historical analysis

Incredibly touching . . . Robinson reveals family secrets kept for entire lifetimes. Full of poignant memories of illegitimate children brought up between WW1 and the 1960s, this is an elegant and compassionately written examination, with a thought-provoking sting in its tail

I am one of the women written about in Jane Robinson's In the Family Way. I was put in one of the homes by a mother who cared more about what the neighbours thought than how I would feel when she was taken away from me for adoption. They were awful times and Jane has done a great service by writing this book. So many people I have spoken to recently did not even know these places existed, but to myself and all the other young mothers involved they will never be forgotten. Thank you Jane for exposing it for all to see!

Social history of the best kind

Robinson discovered many older people still damaged by being or bearing an illegitimate child. They swamped her with testimonies, but it is telling that almost all of the 100 interviewees asked to remain anonymous

A fascinating look at the lives of ordinary women in 1950s Britain

Meticulously researched

A ground-breaking book, richly nuanced with titbits of information, insight and understanding

Remarkably perceptive and well-researched . . . Virginia Nicholson has produced another extraordinarily interesting work, sensitive, intelligent and well-written

An inspiring book, lovingly researched, well-written and humane . . . the period is beautifully caught

The popular image is of a world where women wore little frilled pinafores with immaculately coiffed hair and happy smiles as they dusted, swept and baked . . . But Nicholson's book reveals a much darker side of life

Gripping, constantly surprising: a page-turner. We hear at first hand the life stories of women from different walks of life, from factory workers to debs. Each story draws you right in and it's always a wrench to move on

A sparkling and fascinating account

Well-paced narrative...of great relevance today, when such conflicts seem (but only seem) to have disappeared.

Immensely compelling

Meticulously researched

The true strength of this meticulously researched book is the placing of the revelations into the context of a compelling human drama

Engrossing

[An] outstanding treasure of literature

Impeccably researched, and moving, this book breaks new ground