When we think of upper-class English men in the 18th and 19th
centuries, we think of gout. Edward Gibbon, Samuel Johnson and
Robert Browning were among the many sufferers. It was all that port
that they drank, wasn't it? In part, it was, as this fascinating
book reveals, though its causes were varied and its consequences
wide ranging. The authors survey the history of gout over the
centuries, the way in which it was represented in literature and
the arts, particularly in Georgian and Regency England, and what is
association with wealthy males tells us about constructions of
class and gender in the past. Scholarly and yet highly readable,
this is well worth trying. (Kirkus UK)
Gout has interested medical writers and cultural commentators from
the time of Ancient Greece. Historically seen as a disease
afflicting upper-class males of superior wit, genius and
creativity, it has included among its sufferers Erasmus, the
Medici, Edward Gibbon, Samuel Johnson, Immanuel Kant and Robert
Browning. Gout has also been the subject of medical folklore,
viewed as a disease that protects its sufferers and assure long
life. This book investigates the history of gout and through it
offers a perspective on medical and social history, sex, prejudice
and class and explains why gout was gender specific. The authors
investigate medical thinking about gout through the ages, from
Hippocrates and Galen through Paracelsus and Harvey to Archibald
Garrod in the Victorian era and beyond. They discuss the cultural,
moral, religious and personal qualities associated with gout,
examining social commentary, personal writings, cartoons and visual
arts, and imaginative literature (including novels of Dickens,
Thackeray and Joseph Conrad).
General
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