Description
02/03/2026
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
- 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.
The Surgeon, The Midwife, The Quack
‘Fascinating.’ Daily Mail
‘Meticulously researched and deliciously detailed.’ Victoria Shepherd, author of A History of Delusions
