Surgeon, the Midwife, the Quack: How to Stay Alive in Renaissance England
Surgeon, the Midwife, the Quack: How to Stay Alive in Renaissance England
Surgeon, the Midwife, the Quack: How to Stay Alive in Renaissance England
Description
Description
Discover the remarkable birth of modern medicine... and how not to die in the Renaissance
'An entertaining history of medicine... Skuse brings a deep familiarity with the contemporary sources and a dry wit.' Dan Jones, The Sunday Times The cliched view medicine in the Renaissance world is dreadful: gore-splattered hacksaws, arsenic concoctions, the four humours and all those leeches... Reality, however, proves somewhat different. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, a medical revolution was afoot. Physicians' education was being formalised. Surgeons were documenting the intricacies of the human body with ever-greater skill. And, as European powers expanded into the New World, novel medicines and treatments were being discovered. Alanna Skuse ventures into the bustling medical marketplace of Renaissance England - a world of travelling surgeons, prosthetics craftsmen, faith healers and snake oil merchants.
'An entertaining history of medicine... Skuse brings a deep familiarity with the contemporary sources and a dry wit.' Dan Jones, The Sunday Times The cliched view medicine in the Renaissance world is dreadful: gore-splattered hacksaws, arsenic concoctions, the four humours and all those leeches... Reality, however, proves somewhat different. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, a medical revolution was afoot. Physicians' education was being formalised. Surgeons were documenting the intricacies of the human body with ever-greater skill. And, as European powers expanded into the New World, novel medicines and treatments were being discovered. Alanna Skuse ventures into the bustling medical marketplace of Renaissance England - a world of travelling surgeons, prosthetics craftsmen, faith healers and snake oil merchants.
- Discover domestic healers like Elizabeth Freke, a doyenne of folk remedies, always ready to dole out tonics and elixirs to her ailing neighbours.
- Browse the shelves of the early modern apothecary with Nicholas Culpeper as he lays the groundwork for the modern pharmacy.
- Meet the expert midwife Jane Sharp, successful author and pioneer of women's health.
- Join the intrepid plague doctor George Thomson as he braves London's Great Plague.
About the Author
About the Author
Dr Alanna Skuse is a literary scholar, historian and author. She is an Associate Professor at the University of Reading and has written and broadcasted for BBC Radio, Wellcome Stories, the Conversation and History Today.
Critical Reviews
Critical Reviews
'From "puppy water" to wince-worthy surgery, The Surgeon, The Midwife, The Quack by Alanna Skuse is an entertaining history of medicine... Skuse brings a deep familiarity with the contemporary sources and a dry wit... Skuse treads a thoughtful line between the weird and the touching.' --The Sunday Times
'Astonishing... Skuse's meticulously researched and deliciously detailed book brings a vivid cast of characters out of the shadows, and gives a proper place to the unsung pioneers.' --Victoria Shepherd, author of A History of Delusions
'Fascinating.' --Daily Mail
'A positive pharmacopoeia of physic from a bygone age... Eye-opening and perception changing, with just the right amount of gore, a must-read.' --Prof John Tregoning, author of Infectious
Publishing Information
Publishing Information
Publisher:
Oneworld Publications
Pub date:
2026-02-03
Length:
384 pages
The Allstora Membership
Membership Perks:
- Save 30% on all online store purchases
- Exclusive access to author's content
- You pay less, but authors still earn double
Membership Terms:
First Month:
$0.00
Monthly price:
$5.00
- To access membership discount simply log in and add to cart, discount applied automatically.
- One month free trial, cancel anytime. Membership renews on the 15th of each month.