Infanticide and the mid-Victorian conscience 1830–70 (I)

In the context of the high infant mortality rate, the periodic discovery of a baby’s body in the street or river was shrugged off as a grim inevitability. In the early nineteenth century infant life was held cheap, especially bastards. As the fictional evil midwife Nancy Drury put it: ‘Them chance-children have a bad life on’t. They’re best out of the world.’ ¹