A detailed exploration of the real lives of unmarried mothers in England through the past century. Argues that the 'permissive' sixties were largely a revolt against the secrecy and hypocrisy that went before. Although this led to greater public tolerance of family diversity, stigma and hardship persisted for many lone mothers and their children. Pat Thane and Tanya Evans use a rich study of unmarried mothers to illuminate changing experiences of inequality, welfare, and family across the twentieth century invaluable to social historians, but also a provocative intervention in contemporary debates about social policy and the reform of the state.