Lone Motherhood in Twentieth-century Britain

Book excerpt: Over the course of the 1990s, lone motherhood has become a major political issue in Britain--but what is the problem actually about and to what extent is it new? This timely study, written by three leading experts in the field, examines the changes that have befallen the pathways leading to lone motherhood--changes in ideas about marriage, divorce, and never-married motherhood. The evolutionary policy histories relevant to lone mothers in housing, social security, and employment are also studied. The findings detailed in these pages illustrate both the complexity of the issues and the extent to which policies have reflected society's changing definitions of this phenomenon.