A maidservant's lot: R.C. Richardson describes the fortunes of young women driven by poverty into domestic service in early modern England. a number fell victim to predatory masters and ended up with illegitimate children, only to be ejected from households into penury or, worse, executed for infanticide

The life of a maidservant in early modern England was one fraught with perils, with young girls often prey to the advances of their lustful masters. In 1693 the London [...]