The Great Stork Derby: An Eccentric Millionaire, the Great Depression, and the Women Who Raced to Make Babies, (Paperback)

<p><strong>The true story of a decade-long contest like no other</strong></p> <p>On Halloween night in 1926, an unconventional millionaire in Toronto with a wicked sense of humour died, leaving behind an unusual clause in his will that haunted Canada for a decade: Charles Vance Millar offered to give the bulk of his estate to the woman who had the most babies in the decade after his death, close to $10 million in today's money. The bequest prompted a mad rush by desperate women to make babies--and a media frenzy. Newspapers covered the contest as a melodrama, with heroines and villains, courtroom showdowns, and unexpected twists and turns. </p> <p>Contests say as much about the public and its prejudices as they do about the contestants. For a competition that was ostensibly about motherhood, it raised troubling questions about race, class, eugenics, birth control, and women's rights. <em>The Great Stork Derby</em> is the remarkable story of both the ordinary and famous people caught up in a dark, little-known chapter of Canada's history, with powerful themes that resonate to this day.</p>

• The Great Stork Derby: An Eccentric Millionaire, the Great Depression, and the Women Who Raced to Make Babies, (Paperback)
• Author: Julian Sher
• ISBN: 9781487013806
• Format: Paperback
• Publication Date: 2027-04-13
• Page Count: 416