Caring for the Elderly from Prehistory to the Twentieth Century

The book builds a picture of caregiving for the elderly throughout history, by means of a 'carerscape'. This idea is based on Appudurai's 'ethnoscape', and is used here with different concepts highlighted in each chapter to create a picture of caregiving. It explores care by individuals, starting with kin and household members, then through various systems, such as spirituality, aspects of legal systems and aspects of social care through various community-based groups.

The book begins by discussing the variety of sources. The first historical chapter refers to prehistoric times, with findings from different paleontologists. Chapters on ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome discuss spirituality, legality and care and abuse. Next, early Christianity is examined, with its communal spirit of care, and then to parish care in medieval times. Personal experiences are highlighted through diaries in nineteenth-century America. Other chapters consider ageing and care in folklore and in fiction and the media. To conclude, there is a discussion on modern caregiving and the 'carerscape' is presented based on the concepts highlighted in the different chapters. A final chapter summarizes the acknowledgement of the general carer role, by listing how different countries now accept caregiving.

Independent researcher Beatrice Hale has a background in social anthropology and social work, especially as a medical social worker with older people. From this she developed an interest in the situation of informal caregivers for older people and began a support group for carers who were dealing with a wide variety of medical needs. Some tutoring and lecturing in this area led to her doctoral research which resulted in numerous articles and two co-authored books: The Age of Supported Independence: Voices of In-Home Care (Springer 2010) and Family Care and Social Capital: Transitions in Informal Care, ( Springer, 2014). Beatrice is a member of ANZASW (the NZ social work association), the NZ Gerontological Association, Graduate Women of New Zealand, New Zealand Society of Authors, the Federation of Writers (Scotland) and Carers New Zealand.