Conceiving Histories

Isabel Davis leads a research theme on Collections and Culture at the Natural History Museum in London, and she is Honorary Research Fellow at Birkbeck, University of London, and Senior Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Reading.Anna Burel is a London-based artist and illustrator whose artwork encompasses textiles, sculpture, drawing, photography, and collage. Her work investigates the female bodily experience through an exploration of history and traditional storytelling like myth and fairytale.Isabel and Anna have worked together since 2015, holding an exhibition of their work in London in 2017.

“Davis resists a chronological narrative or overarching argument. She wants to reject the idea that the story of conception has a predictable plot. The dreamy, associative nature of the book sinks the reader into the uncertain and indeterminate state of trying to conceive, of early pregnancy, of miscarriage.” – London Review of Books

• ContentsIntroduction Annunciations1 Frogs: What your Sex Ed Never Taught You2 Pads: How to Join the Bump Club3 Broody Mary: Narrating the In-Between4 Wind and Waves: How to Self-Help5 Credit: How the Money Rolls Out6 Jeux d’esprit: Testing the Limits7 Wind-Eggs: Conceiving of ThingsConclusion Seeing the UnbecomingHistorical FiguresAcknowledgmentsNotesBibliographyIndex