“Fatherhood: A History of Love and Power” by by Augustine Sedgewick
15 June 2025 is Father’s Day. It has many histories but in the modern world, it seems to be celebrated on the second saturday of June. Hence, PanMacmillan India has sent their latest publication. It is a cuurious book to create with the focus on being some eminent men like Plato, Aristotle, Augustine of Hippo, Henry VIII, Thomas Jefferson, Emerson, Thoreau, Charles Darwin, Sigmund Freud and Bob Dylan. All men from the West. No other culture is represented. A limitation that some of the early reviewers of the book have also pointed out. But hey! all voices and perspectives are welcome.
A bold and original history of fatherhood, exploring its invention and transformation from the Bronze Age to the present through a collective portrait of emblematic fathers who have helped to define how the world should be ruled and what it means to be a man.
‘A richly absorbing piece of history embedded in a wealth of wonderful storytelling. A pleasure to read’ – Vivian Gornick, author of Fierce Attachments
‘An invigorating, impressively researched and honest read. Anyone doing the work of dismantling and reframing the heavy role of the father will find something here’ – Raymond Antrobus, author of Signs, Music
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What is fatherhood, and where did it come from? How has the role of men in families and society changed across thousands of years? What does the history of fatherhood reveal about what it means to be a dad today?
From the anxious philosophers of ancient Athens and Henry VIII’s obsessive quest for an heir, to Charles Darwin’s theories of human origins, Bob Dylan’s take down of ‘The Man’, and beyond, Sedgewick shows how successive generations of men have shaped our understanding of what it means to be and have a father, and in turn our ideas of who we are, where we come from and what we are capable of.
Fatherhood is one of the most meaningful aspects of human culture, but we know little about when or where fatherhood first emerged, or even how or why. Despite its enigmatic beginnings, fatherhood has, for centuries, given shape to ideas about the world, defined human experiences, and provided the foundation of patriarchy. The history of fatherhood is not just the story of one of humanity’s great values: caring for those who cannot care for themselves. And it is not merely the story of patriarchy—“the power of fathers”—which is arguably the oldest and most widespread form of social hierarchy and political oppression. It is the story of how these twin strands of history became so entangled that they are often indistinguishable.
In Fatherhood, celebrated historian Augustine Sedgewick explains how this style of parenting emerged in the first place, why it has changed over time, and whether it will endure as we know it, despite its extraordinary costs. Told through the lives of emblematic fathers like Aristotle, Saint Augustine, Henry VIII, Thomas Jefferson, Charles Darwin, and Sigmund Freud, this is an ambitious yet intimate look at how masculinity has evolved and how men have come to hold disproportionate power by expanding and reinforcing the power of fathers in times of crisis.
Sedgewick, acclaimed for his “literary gifts and prodigious research” (The Atlantic), takes us from the Bronze Age to the present to revolutionize our understanding of fathers and challenge the fictions that have surrounded them for centuries. Fatherhood transforms our understanding of this fundamental idea, experience, and institution, allowing us to better know our past and re-envision our common future.
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‘Absorbing, rigorous, and profoundly moving, Fatherhood is an exquisite narrative history that offers new ways of thinking about masculinity and the modern family’ Kate Bolick, author of Spinster
Augustine Sedgewick is the author of Coffeeland, winner of the 2022 Cherasco International Prize and a New York Times Editors’ Choice selection. He earned his doctorate at Harvard University, and his research on the global history of capitalism, work, food, and family has received fellowships from the American Council of Learned Societies, the American Antiquarian Society, and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, among others. Originally from Maine, Sedgewick lives in New York City with his son.
14 June 2025