Fatherhood

An ambitious history of masculinity and family, from the Bronze Age to the modern day, Fatherhood dares to offer a more caring and affirmative vision of the roles men currently play in society.

'A richly absorbing piece of history embedded in a wealth of wonderful storytelling. A pleasure to read' - Vivian Gornick, author of Fierce Attachments

'An invigorating, impressively researched and honest read. Anyone doing the work of dismantling and reframing the heavy role of the father will find something here' - Raymond Antrobus, author of Signs, Music

What is fatherhood, and where did it come from? How has the role of men in families and society changed across thousands of years? What does the history of fatherhood reveal about what it means to be a dad today?

From the anxious philosophers of ancient Athens and Henry VIII's obsessive quest for an heir, to Charles Darwin's theories of human origins, Bob Dylan's take down of 'The Man', and beyond, Sedgewick shows how successive generations of men have shaped our understanding of what it means to be and have a father, and in turn our ideas of who we are, where we come from and what we are capable of.

'Absorbing, rigorous, and profoundly moving, Fatherhood is an exquisite narrative history that offers new ways of thinking about masculinity and the modern family' Kate Bolick, author of Spinster