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The Hygiene of Womanhood was written 1889 by Mrs. Dr. Maitland-King. The full title is The hygiene of womanhood: a book for mothers and daughters being lectures to ladies on common sense guides to health strength and beauty. In the book Mrs. Maitland-King gives, in small lectures, medical and common sense advice for woman on topics like corpulence, diseases caused by corsets, nervous prostration, sport exercises like gymnastic, how to care for teeth, hair and hands. Furthermore she discusses the need for female physicians and doctors. Additionally, there are chapters on vaccinations, epidemics, breathing, healthy dieting also when in stress, moral and intellectual beauty or beauty from within, the importance of sunlight and fresh air, bad effects of teaching young children at school, hot summers, bad habits, skin care and bad effects of self-prescribed medication.

The author
Mrs. Dr. Muriel Maitland-King was a medical woman in USA and great Britain. In 1900 she had an office on 49a Park Street, Grosvenor Square in London, UK and on in the Late of Sturtevant House; Broadway, New York, USA. She had H. R. H. Princess Christian and H. R. H. the Duchess of Fife as royal patients who also accepted copies of her book "The Hygiene of Womanhood".

Time era and Zeitgeist
Mrs. Dr. Maitland-King published this book close to the end of the Victorian era. To this time the role of the woman was still mostly seen as a housewife and mother, but changes happened that allowed woman to have more education and with that career opportunities. For example did Cambridge, Edinburgh and Durham universities in 1865 and 1866, in 1870 also Oxford university, allow girls to local school examinations. Pioneer thinkers and leaders like Emily Davies, who founded Britain's first woman's collage and fought for education for woman at these times worked during the late 19th century. Another pioneer and leader of promotion of medical education for woman was Elizabeth Blackwell, who was the first woman that graduated with a medical degree in the United States in 1849. And six years later Dr. Mary Edwards Walker graduates medical school and becomes USA's first female surgeon.

Commercial in the book
She advice to buy Undergarments from Dr. Jaeger's Sanitary Woollen Undergarments. Furthermore, she advises to buy Wheat Gluten prepared by the Health Food Company, of New Jersey, America. For cleansing the skin she advises to use "EKNOS" Tonic Bath.

Female doctors
According to Mrs. Dr. Maitland-King were there around 1500 female physicians in the USA around the year 1900. When compared to numbers of the 21st century there are overall more men practicing physicians (64% male and 36% female),. however this trend is changing. When looking at percentages of physicians younger than 35 years, then there are more woman (60%) than man (40%). Today there is no debate about the need for female doctors, but it is a usual career for a woman. However there were only a few female surgeons when Dr. Maitland- King wrote this book. The first female surgeon in the USA was Dr. Mary Edwards Walker, she graduated from medical school 1855. Mrs. Dr. Maitland-King shares her opinion in her book, that there should be female doctors but that woman should not be surgeons. Her standpoint can be seen as a modern one to her time, which can be seen in the struggle Elizabeth Blackwell had when she tried to find a hospital that let her work as a doctor.

Press notices
Magazines and newspapers that wrote about Mrs. Dr. Maitland- King's book "the hygiene of womanhood":


 * Gentlewoman
 * Manchester City News
 * Western Morning News
 * Public Opinion
 * The Queen
 * The Lady
 * Hearth and Home
 * Lady's Pictorial
 * Woman
 * Bucks Free Press
 * Weekly Mercury
 * Catholic Times
 * Reading Mercury
 * Life