Those of us old enough to recall the decades before the 1960s will know that we have lived through a social revolution. Before that time, for an unmarried woman to have a child was considered a moral and social disgrace. Pregnant unmarried girls took their own lives rather than face the horrible stigma. The illegal abortion trade flourished.

If an unmarried woman chose to have her baby she could face the heartbreak of having her child taken from her, as portrayed in the recent Judi Dench film Philomena.

The author of In the Family Way, Jane Robinson, born in Edinburgh and educated at Oxford, has written a series of books giving her the reputation of an engaging and original social historian. As I read this gripping account of illegitimacy in the first half of the 20th century, I could not help wondering why no one had previously written such a study, based on first-hand memories.

The author advertised asking for experiences of the stigma of illegitimacy. In the end she tells us that she had over 100 secret histories in her possessions. She was determined to tell what it was really like to be, or to bear an illegitimate child in what she calls the "cloyingly polite years between the Great War and the so-called Swinging Sixties." She  promised to keep all communications confidential. She admits that few of her personal interviews passed without tears (of happiness and relief, as well as sorrow or regret).

The 1960's decade is seen as the arrival of the permissive society. But even now, half a century later, the stories are stigmatised by guilt and shame. Jane Robinson seeks to break that silence by letting victims speak for themselves.

She comments that some of the stories she uncovered  remind us of the dark novels of Thomas Hardy. But some are inspiring testimonies to the strength of the human spirit. The author covers not only unmarried mothers but also unmarried fathers and the legal and moral judgements heaped on them and on the children. The chapter "Lost Innocents: Child Migration" gives a context to tales of abuse in Australia at Institutions such as Pinjarra in Western Australia and the Fairbridge Farm School at Molong,  (which the author spells "Moolong"), in NSW.

Today even the legal concept of illegitimacy has been abolished but the scars remain.  In the Family Way is a memorable attempt to smash a terrible stigma.

Robert Willson is a Canberra reviewer.