The King's Midwife: A History and Mystery of Madame du Coudray Book

Prologue: Who Is Mme du Coudray?	1
1. The Portrait, Paris, Summer 1985	3
2. Biography as History and Mystery, Los Angeles and
France, 1986-1996	6
3. The National Midwife's Mission Statement, Clermont, 1
August 1760	15
1. From Private Practice to Public Service	23
A Parisian Midwife
4. Hanging Her Shingle, Paris, 22 February 1740	25
5. A Birth, Paris, January 1744	31
6. The Petition, Paris, 17 May 1745	36
7. Apprentices and Associates, Paris, 22 January 1751	44
Teaching in Auvergne: The Depopulation Issue
8. Break to the Provinces, Thiers-en-Auvergne, 1
October 1751	54
9. "The Stories They Told Me," Clermont, 9 May 1755	57
10. The "Machine," Paris, 13 May 1756	60
11. Early Lessons, Clermont, July 1757	64
12. A Future Hero, Chavaniac, 7 September 1757	71
13. Textbook as Patriotism, Clermont, January 1759	72
14. Protest from a Village Matron, Plauzat, 12 June
1759	79
2. Saving Babies for France	89
15. Royal Brevet: "Sent by the King," Versailles, 19
October 1759	91
16. Traveling for His Majesty, Moulins, November 1761	96
17. Boasts, Rebuffs, and Boutin, Chalon-sur-Saone, 19
March 1763	100
18. Turgot, Tulle, 29 December 1763	103
19. "Her Unendurable Arrogance," Angouleme, 30 July
1764	106
20. The Thrifty Laverdy, Fontainebleau, 16 October
1764	108
21. Sounding Her Mood, Bourdeilles, 12 December 1764	111
22. Delivering "Like a Cobbler Makes Shoes,"
Poitiers, February 1765	112
23. Surgeons of the King's Navy, Rochefort-sur-Mer,
30 April 1766	115
24. Brevet No. 2: The Royal Treasury, Compiegne, 18
August 1767	119
25. The Bien(s) de l'Humanite, Montargis, 30
September 1767	120
26. The Students--"Mes femmes," Bourges, All Saints'
Day 1767	122
27. "A Furious Disgust," Bourges, 9 February 1768	125
28. Prize Pupil, Issoudun, 2 August 1768	132
29. New Edition, Strong Words, Perigueux, 4 September
1769	135
30. The Kindness of Strangers, Agen, 30 November 1769	138
3. Forging Farther Afield--Friends, "Family," and Foes	141
New Strains, Private Needs
31. Friendship and Fortification, Bordeaux, Spring
1770	143
32. The Suitor and Other Calamities, Auch, 19
December 1770	146
33. Coutanceau, "Provost" and Partner, Montauban,
Winter 1771	151
34. "Happy as a Queen," Grenoble, 16 June 1772	152
35. Networks, Newspapers, and Name Games, Besancon,
16 November 1772	155
36. Flirtation in Champagne, Chalons-sur-Marne, March
1773	162
37. "I Cost Nothing," Verdun, 17 June 1773	165
38. She "Partakes of the Prodigious," Neufchateau,
Fall 1773	169
Designing a Dynasty
39. Romance in the Entourage, Nancy, 27 February 1774	172
40. Brevet No. 3: The Succession, Versailles, 1 March
1774	174
41. "A Reward So Justly Deserved," Amiens, 15 April
1774	175
42. Overtures Beyond the Border, Lille, 24 December
1774	180
43. A Wedding Across the Flemish Frontier, Ypres, 28
February 1775	183
44. Ministerial Mutiny? Caen, 2 July 1775	187
45. A Newborn and a Wet Nurse, Rennes, 8 January 1776	190
46. "Attend, Monsieur, to My Little Interests,"
Nantes, Summer and Fall 1776	196
Detractors, Defenses, Dazzling Displays
47. The Attack, Paris, 5 March 1777	201
48. Counterattack: "It Is the King Who Pays Me,"
Evreux, 27 October 1777	207
49. Courting the Neckers, Paris, 31 December 1777	212
50. Pandemonium, Le Mans, 11 January 1778	213
51. The Niece's Rest Cure, Forges-les-Eaux, Spring
1778	217
52. Class/Mass/Vacation, Angers, 1 July 1778	219
4. Delivering the Goods	223
53. Protecting du Coudray's Method, Marly, 7 May 1779	225
54. Women and Cows, Alfort near Charenton, October
1780	226
5. Turning over the Keys	235
55. "My Age and My Infirmities," Bourges, 25 December
1781	237
56. Family Separation, Belley, 30 December 1782	243
57. Cunning and Calonne, Paris, 12 July 1785	246
58. Rumblings and Discontent, Sarlat, March 1787	251
6. Citoyenne Midwives and the Revolution	257
59. As the Bastille Falls, Castillones, 14 July 1789	259
60. The Lafayette Connection, Paris, Fall 1790	260
61. What Treasury Will Pay? Bordeaux, 1 July 1791	265
62. Mme Coutanceau's Clinic, Bordeaux, 30 August 1793	268
63. Du Coudray, Casualty of the Terror, Bordeaux, 28
Germinal An II (17 Apri 1 1794)	271
Epilogue: Paris and Los Angeles, 1994-1996	277
Abbreviations	285
Notes	287
Bibliography	321
List of Illustrations	335
Acknowledgments	336
Index	337