Hot Flushes, Cold Science: A History of the Modern Menopause

'Hot Flushes, Cold Science by Louise Foxcroft challenges the myths around that feared 'M" word, the menopause, and roused my militant spirit from its embers!'-Mariella Frostrup, Psychologies

For centuries, attitudes to the menopause have created shame, fear and confusion. In this meticulously researched and always entertaining book, Louise Foxcroft sets out to change all that, delving into the history books to show how this natural phenomenon was reinvented as a medical `illness'. Ranging from the bizarre and dangerous treatments of the 18th century to the lingering misogyny towards menopausal women today, Hot Flushes, Cold Science is an important, myth-busting book that challenges our assumptions and captures the truth about the change.

'Hot Flushes, Cold Science shows how and why the menopause remains a taboo...Liberate yourself from your fears is Foxcroft's final message. Ageing is not a disease and affects both sexes'-Virginia Smith, Observer

'Not many Cambridge academics can make you laugh aloud and gasp with shock. Louise Foxcroft does both in a rampaging history of the relationship between doctors and the menopause'-Libby Purves, Mail on Sunday

'[A] gripping study of western attitudes to women of a certain age and older...Scared of the change, or just keen on social history? Here's your book'-Mary Crockett, Scotsman