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Margaret Drabble’s 1965 novel The Millstone offers a nuanced portrayal of single motherhood in 1960s London. Author Carrie Mullins, whose 2024 nonfiction work The Book of Mothers explores literary depictions of motherhood, joins us to discuss Drabble’s fearless protagonist, Rosamund. Together, we explore how The Millstone captures the joys and burdens of motherhood, and how Drabble’s sharp, ahead-of-its-time portrayal speaks to contemporary readers.

Mentioned in this episode:

The Book of Mothers: How Literature Can Help Us Reinvent Modern Motherhood by Carrie Mullins

The Millstone by Margaret Drabble

A Touch of Love starring Sandy Dennis and Ian McKellan

A.S. Byatt

Cambride Ladies Dining Society

Lost Ladies of Lit Episode No. 139 on Heartburn by Nora Ephron

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

“Little Women” and the Marmee Problem

The Color Purple by Alice Walker

Pride & Prejudiceby Jane Austen

Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert

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