'richly contextualized and rigorously researched, Haggett's book makes a unique contribution to our knowledge and understanding of women and gender roles in post-Second World War Britain, questioning feminist orthodoxies on domesticity and emotional well-being' Hilary Marland, University of Warwick 'The lesson from this scholarly and provocative book is clear: if we are to distinguish effectively between myth and reality, we desperately need more such nuanced and carefully evidenced historical accounts of the social determinants of mental illness.' Mark Jackson, University of Exeter For women's studies and women's history collections. Recommended. CHOICE

• Introduction; Chapter 1 Reflections on the Desperate Housewife; Chapter 2 The Art of Marriage: Marriage and Mothering During the Post-War Period; Chapter 3 The Housewife’s Day: Personal Accounts of Housewifery and Mothering; Chapter 4 Lightening Troubled Minds: Mid-Twentieth Century Medical Understandings of Affective Disorders; Chapter 5 Not Something you Talk about: Personal Accounts of Anxiety and Depression; Chapter 6 For Ladies in Distress: Representations of Anxiety and Depression in the Medical and Popular Press; conclusion Conclusion;