Sara and I are editing a special issue of Women’s Writing! See the details here or head to the Women’s Writing website for more. Women’s Writing on Illness and Disease In light of the current Covid-19 pandemic, it seems timely to consider the ways in which women have written about
Making a Medical Commonwealth
Abigail Harley and Brampton Bryan: Making a Medical Commonwealth By Emma Marshall How were illness and healthcare entangled with power in the past? Abigail Harley (c.1664-1726) of Brampton Bryan, Herefordshire, was part of a famously political family. As an unmarried, childless younger daughter with little obvious authority, she has often
Bloodletting and Pleurisy
Writing in his autobiography Sir Simonds D’Ewes explains that on the 22 February 1631 his father, Paul Dewes a barrister and government official, ‘fell sick of a fever, joined with a pleurisy, of which disease he lingered three weeks before he deceased, during which time I had many sad and
Pear Power
Being stuck inside the house on lock-down is certainly very challenging, but it has meant that I have had ample time to enjoy my rather petite pear tree explode into blossom. Eating Fruit Eating fruit in the early modern period was complicated in terms of health. David Gentilcore’s excellent book
Historic Hostility and the Search for a Smallpox Vaccine.
A guest post by Jo Willett As the Coronavirus crisis continues, seemingly daily we get news of the scramble to find a vaccine and ineffective antibody tests. Today we have a guest blog by Jo Willet pointing out the parallels between the search for a vaccine for this new virus