Old Wives' Tales: The History of Remedies, Charms and Spells

by Mary Chamberlain

From goddesses and witches to modern-day doctors—an entertaining history of women healers featuring an A–Z of remedies
 The woman healer is as old as history—for millennia she has been doctor, nurse, and midwife, and even in the age of modern medicine her wisdom is handed down in the form of old wives' tales. Using extensive research into archives and original texts, and numerous conversations with women in city and countryside, Mary Chamberlain presents a stimulating challenge to the history of orthodox medicine and an illuminating survey of female wisdom which goes back to the earliest times. What are old wives’ tales? Where do they come from? Do they really work? These questions, and many more, are answered in this fascinating compendium of remedies and cures handed down from mother to daughter from the beginning of time. We may all know that stewed prunes are a cure for constipation, but how many of us were aware that a poultice of chicken manure is a remedy for baldness? Or that eel liver will aid a difficult labor?

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Feminism, Witchcraft, Spirituality, Nature, Reference

240 pages, Paperback

First published September 21, 2010

About the author

Mary Chamberlain is a novelist and historian. Her book Fenwomen: a portrait of women in an English village was the first book to be published by Virago Press in 1975. Since then, she has published six other works of history, and edited a further five. Her first novel, The Mighty Jester was published by Dr. Cicero Books in the US. Her British debut novel, The Dressmaker of Dachau was published by HarperCollins in the UK and, under the title The Dressmaker's War, by Random House in the USA. In all, it sold to 19 countries and was an international best-seller. Her novel, The Hidden, was published by Oneworld Publications in February 2019. The Sunday Times listed it as their MUST READ choice of the best recent books in February 2019. This was followed by, The Forgotten, 2021 and The Lie, 2023 both published by Oneworld. A special 50th anniversary edition of Fenowmen will be published by Virago in September 2025 as part of their Virago Modern Classics, with a new introduction by Alexandra Harris and a cover design by Eleanor Rose.

Reviews

[Icy Sedgwick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is less a compendium of old wives' tales (as I was expecting) and more of a history of medicine with a feminist slant. Chamberlain inserts the tradition of the "wise woman" back into medical history, exposing the inherent gender bias that colours medical science even to this day.

The book is not designed to be used as a herbal textbook, nor is it a 'Wicca-lite' spellbook - instead, it's a fascinating non-fiction history book, with the remedies and spells inserted as examples. Despite the subject, it's an easy read, and highly recommended for anyone with a historical interest in herbalism, or women's history.

[Kthxbai! · Rating 4 out of 5]

While this wasn't what I had hoped it would be (a collection of old wives' tales, their history and basis in fact or fiction), it was a very interesting read. A good, healthy dose of often-overlooked history, this gives a decent overview of women's roles in the healing arts and sciences from ancient times through the 20th century. There's a pretty heavy feminist slant, of course, as the "bad MEN of modern medicine" marginalize and minimize women's knowledge and participation, pushing them into the rather questionable role of midwife/abortionist. It does get a bit old, though, to be told over and over how backward modern (male) medical treatments are compared to the oh-so-wise-and-in-touch-with-nature treatments proffered by the old wives, such as wearing red flannel around the neck to ease a sore throat. It seemed to me that neither the old wives nor the medical scientists had any kind of monopoly on sound medical advice -- or on ridiculous quack treatments. This book would have come across as far more fair and logical if it had acknowledged this point a bit more readily.

One of the most fascinating parts of the book is the listing of remedies at the end. There are a few which do have actual medical efficacy, but most are silly, bizarre, or even grotesque instructions for "curing" everything from acne to plague. While this was amusing, it would have been far more interesting to learn a bit more about how these "cures" were derived.

[T · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

Interesting, albeit a bit dry, book that had less to do with the origins of old wives’ tales (ie if you make a face, it’ll freeze that way) and more to do with the old wives who were the stopgap and acted as primary healthcare workers for women and the poor throughout history. Very Eurocentric and, in particular, Anglocentric in its approach. Outside of mentions of ancient Egypt and the ancient Near East, didn’t touch upon midwifery or healthcare of women outside of Europe and primarily England.

Stars deducted for glaring historical inaccuracies. The god Woden was named as a Celtic god (Saxon) and the statement that the Druids traded with the Egyptians was thrown out without citing a reference. In all my study of history, I have never ever read this.

[Ellie Kidger · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a mixture of history and compendium, and it works brilliantly with the subject matter. Some of the remedies I recognise from my own relatives, which is amusing.

[G. Lawrence · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read, really interesting and easy to absorb

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alright, so to preface, my great-grandmother was the type of person to be classified as a "wise woman" by this book's standards, hence why when I saw this at the book store, I was drawn to it.

For a nonfiction book, this was somewhat... emotional. It was strange in a way, because it was presented quite objectively, even if it had an obvious slant. There is a great section of history I have glazed over, which makes me somewhat sad.

This isn't a dime store Wicca book (heck, it isn't even a dime store herbalism book), it's a discussion of history of the quieter sect.

There are a lot of things tied up in medicine that we don't notice, with our vaccinations and penicillin. That to some extent, the medical profession lives a little in the Dark Ages.

Anyone wants to borrow it, I'd gladly lend it to them, just saying.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

*rises from the ashes*

Wooo books, amirite?

So this book has two parts - the history of the wise-woman figure, which was very interesting, and then the part with all the collected rememdies, which were also interesting but also hilarious. I love this shit so much. Just try to guess what these remedies are supposed to stave off:
'Rise early and eat a crust of bread about the size of your thumb.'
Indigestion

'Place a cold key down the back.'
nosebleeds

'Moss, found growing on a human skull, dried and powdered and taken as snuff.'
'Soak the feet in a hot mustard bath.'
'Woodlice, taken as a pill.'
headaches

Good shit.

[Diana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, informative for someone whose background is nursing, but found it, it was with feministic influences. The amount of abortions performed truly shocked me.