The Pope and the Pill

‘Geiringer offers a fascinating account that goes some way to shedding light on hitherto hidden experiences. By putting testimonies centre stage, Geiringer gives voices, for the first time, to the emotional struggles Catholic women experienced in post-war Britain.’
British Catholic History

'David Geiringer’s fascinating and intimate account of the lived religious experiences of twenty-seven Catholic women in post-war England is highly revealing of the dynamics between social change, one Christian denomination’s response to the 1960s ‘sexual revolution’ and women’s experiences of each ... it should be required reading for any historian of religion, gender, sex and medicine in post-war Britain and beyond.'
Contemporary British History

‘This is a pathbreaking book, packed with powerful, poignant and highly personal testimonies from Catholic women negotiating Vatican teaching – and their own experiences – of sex, marriage and embodiment across the lifecycle. Geiringer deftly demonstrates the ways in which these subjective renegotiations of the relationship between sex and religion from the 1960s onwards have critical implications for wider understandings of post-war Britain. A compelling read.’
Alana Harris, Lecturer in Modern British History, King's College London

'The Pope and the Pill is a valuable inclusion to the history of sex and history of religion. It acts as a break from traditional interpretations of the sex lives of Catholic women and as a model for academic oral history interviewing.'
Twentieth Century British History