Starting a family in the Victorian era was a serious business, with parents needing to know what sexual positions and room decor will help you conceive a son, how much heroin and cyanide you can safely consume while pregnant, and how to select the best peasant teat for your child. In this illustrated guide, Therese Oneill conducts an unforgettable tour through the backwards, pseudoscientific, downright bizarre parenting fashions of the Victorians, finding the humor in the age-old struggle to bring up baby.