
The Life, Old Age, and Death of a Working-Class Woman
Didier Eribon(Author)
Allen Lane (Publisher)
Published on 25. March 2025
Book
Hardback
256 pages
978-0-241-68672-0 (ISBN)
Description
'Searingly honest . . . compelling, hard to read and hard to put down' Literary Review
'A frank and moving story . . . an urgent plea' Telegraph
'Who speaks? Who is able to make themselves heard? And if this fundamental political gesture remains inaccessible to so many people who figure among the most dominated, the most dispossessed, the most vulnerable, does it not fall to artists, writers and intellectuals to speak of them and for them'
When Didier Eribon's mother began to lose her physical and cognitive autonomy, the author and his brothers were compelled to place her in a nursing home, despite their misgivings. A few weeks later, she died.
In The Life, Old Age, and Death of a Working-Class Woman, Eribon embarks on a historical, political and personal meditation on what it means to grow old in our society, and the care we provide for those who cannot afford to pay for better services. Tracing his mother's rapid decline - and drawing on works by Simone de Beauvoir, Norbert Elias, Annie Ernaux and Michel Foucault, among others - Eribon offers an honest, original and wide-ranging exploration of the relationship between ageing, gender and class, transmuting his own rage, sadness and shame into a strikingly nuanced portrait of the most overlooked human experience.
Translated by Michael Lucey
'A frank and moving story . . . an urgent plea' Telegraph
'Who speaks? Who is able to make themselves heard? And if this fundamental political gesture remains inaccessible to so many people who figure among the most dominated, the most dispossessed, the most vulnerable, does it not fall to artists, writers and intellectuals to speak of them and for them'
When Didier Eribon's mother began to lose her physical and cognitive autonomy, the author and his brothers were compelled to place her in a nursing home, despite their misgivings. A few weeks later, she died.
In The Life, Old Age, and Death of a Working-Class Woman, Eribon embarks on a historical, political and personal meditation on what it means to grow old in our society, and the care we provide for those who cannot afford to pay for better services. Tracing his mother's rapid decline - and drawing on works by Simone de Beauvoir, Norbert Elias, Annie Ernaux and Michel Foucault, among others - Eribon offers an honest, original and wide-ranging exploration of the relationship between ageing, gender and class, transmuting his own rage, sadness and shame into a strikingly nuanced portrait of the most overlooked human experience.
Translated by Michael Lucey
Reviews / Votes
A frank and moving story . . . an urgent plea for the elderly to be treated with more respect -- Helen Brown * Telegraph * Searingly honest . . . I found it compelling, hard to read and hard to put down -- Norma Clarke * Literary Review * He recounts his mother's life and death both as a son and as a sociologist . . . a genre that's particularly suited to our age, with its growing understanding of how social class shapes life-paths -- Simon Kuper * Financial Times * Uniquely moving... the breadth of cultural references... is stunning, and the readings of them are nuanced... His diagnosis of how old age, to nobody's benefit, is neglected in public discourse is spot on, especially in view of the decades-old debate about a sustainable British social care model -- Franklin Nelson * Spectator * Eribon's is a book laden with melancholy, but one that stresses the importance not just of solidarity and political struggle but also the fundamental social dimension of existence, and what we lose when we are cut off from others -- Bartolomeo Sala * Jacobin * Praise for Returning to Reims -- - * : * A deeply intelligent and searching book, one that makes you re-consider the narrative of your own life and reframe the story you tell yourself... Didier Eribon understands how deep the roots of inequality go -- Hilary Mantel Eribon offers up a magnificent example of an enlightened life liberated by theory, written in a style that deftly moves between the intimate, the social and the political -- Annie Ernaux Returning to Reims played a capital role in my life... I was overwhelmed by this book. I felt I was reading the story of my life -- Edouard Louis Praise for Returning to Reims: A deeply intelligent and searching book, one that makes you re-consider the narrative of your own life and reframe the story you tell yourself... Didier Eribon understands how deep the roots of inequality go -- Hilary MantelMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Penguin Books Ltd
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 218 mm
Width: 140 mm
Thickness: 28 mm
Weight
358 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-241-68672-0 (9780241686720)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Didier Eribon
The Life, Old Age, and Death of a Working-Class Woman
E-Book
03/2025
Penguin
€10.99
Available for download
Persons
Didier Eribon is a prominent French sociologist and author on matters of social class, identity, sexuality and rebellion. He is internationally renowned for his biography of Michel Foucault and his groundbreaking memoir Returning to Reims.