Smith, Lisa (2026) Beautiful Fertility in the Eighteenth Century. In: A Cultural History of Beauty, in the Age of Enlightenment. The Cultural History Series, 4 . Bloomsbury Academic, London. ISBN 9781350071889. Official URL: https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/cultural-history-of-...
Smith, Lisa (2026) Beautiful Fertility in the Eighteenth Century. In: A Cultural History of Beauty, in the Age of Enlightenment. The Cultural History Series, 4 . Bloomsbury Academic, London. ISBN 9781350071889. Official URL: https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/cultural-history-of-...
Smith, Lisa (2026) Beautiful Fertility in the Eighteenth Century. In: A Cultural History of Beauty, in the Age of Enlightenment. The Cultural History Series, 4 . Bloomsbury Academic, London. ISBN 9781350071889. Official URL: https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/cultural-history-of-...
Abstract
This chapter considers the relationship between fertility, health and beauty in eighteenth-century England and France, situating everyday assumptions within a wider scientific and colonial context. Drawing on medical treatises, recipes books, fortune-telling guides and fairy tales, this chapter argues that discussions about beautiful fertility—which centered on fertility identification, embodied morality and infant care—revealed broader anxieties about national morality and strength.
| Item Type: | Book Section |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | beauty; eighteenth century; fertility; gender; medicine; history; reproduction; fairy tales; health; race; class; Infertility, Female; Infertility, Male; Women's Health; Beauty Culture; History of Medicine; History, 18th Century |
| Divisions: | Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences > Philosophical, Historical and Interdisciplinary Studies, School of Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| SWORD Depositor: | Unnamed user with email elements@essex.ac.uk |
| Depositing User: | Unnamed user with email elements@essex.ac.uk |
| Date Deposited: | 01 Sep 2025 14:39 |
| Last Modified: | 23 Sep 2026 17:09 |
| URI: | http://repository.essex.ac.uk/id/eprint/33844 |
Available files
Filename: Smith Beautiful Fertility accepted version RIS.pdf
Embargo Date: 1 January 2100