For centuries prior to the development of an effective vaccination against rabies, the bite of a "mad" dog was linked to a horrific ailment marked by convulsions, an utter dread of swallowing liquids, uncontrollable thrashing, and even the tendency to bark and attempt to bite others-a horrid prelude to an agonizing death.

Drawing on learned theories of medical practitioners and beliefs of the common people, The Bearer of Crazed and Venomous Fangs investigates the cultural mythology of the ailment known today as rabies. By exploring the cultural history of science, traditional belief, and folk medicine, it reveals the popular myths and learned delusions that came to define the disease. Among the arresting topics explored are the attribution of rabies to a worm beneath the tongue, the notion that the disease could arise spontaneously, the idea that it could be "cured" by the application to the wound of special stones or animal parts, and, if all else failed, the treatment of it by the suffocation of the human victim.

Rich in detail and brimming with historical intrigue, "The Bearer of Crazed and Venomous Fangs" engages students of medicine and the history of science, veterinary studies, folklore, psychology, and anyone interested in how mankind's best friend could be thought of as its cruelest, fiercest enemy.

Explore how everyday people living in eighteenth-century England dealt with sickness, accidents, and disease in this unpublished kitchen book from 1737.Bridget Lane, a typical British housewife and lady of the house, treated her family for the physical ills that befell them. She gathered more than 150 cures and remedies, compiling them along with her unique insights into healing principles and practices of the time.Edited with detailed commentary by Vincent DiMarco, a longtime scholar of medieval literature, this text examines how Bridget Lane's cures relate to folk- and herbal medicine traditions, whether recipes preserved vestiges of magic and spiritual healing, details on ingredients and their effects, and ways certain recipes have been adapted to the modern kitchen.Based on a comprehensive analysis of how the people of the eighteenth-century understood ailments, Mrs. Lane's guide and the attendant commentary is intended for students, lovers of history, and anyone interested in the social sciences. Join an eighteenth-century housewife and discover all she did in the kitchen to protect and help her family with "It Has Helped to Admiration."

For centuries prior to the development of an effective vaccination against rabies, the bite of a "mad" dog was linked to a horrific ailment marked by convulsions, an utter dread of swallowing liquids, uncontrollable thrashing, and even the tendency to bark and attempt to bite others-a horrid prelude to an agonizing death.

Drawing on learned theories of medical practitioners and beliefs of the common people, The Bearer of Crazed and Venomous Fangs investigates the cultural mythology of the ailment known today as rabies. By exploring the cultural history of science, traditional belief, and folk medicine, it reveals the popular myths and learned delusions that came to define the disease. Among the arresting topics explored are the attribution of rabies to a worm beneath the tongue, the notion that the disease could arise spontaneously, the idea that it could be "cured" by the application to the wound of special stones or animal parts, and, if all else failed, the treatment of it by the suffocation of the human victim.

Rich in detail and brimming with historical intrigue, "The Bearer of Crazed and Venomous Fangs" engages students of medicine and the history of science, veterinary studies, folklore, psychology, and anyone interested in how mankind's best friend could be thought of as its cruelest, fiercest enemy.

Explore how everyday people living in eighteenth-century England dealt with sickness, accidents, and disease in this unpublished kitchen book from 1737.Bridget Lane, a typical British housewife and lady of the house, treated her family for the physical ills that befell them. She gathered more than 150 cures and remedies, compiling them along with her unique insights into healing principles and practices of the time.Edited with detailed commentary by Vincent DiMarco, a longtime scholar of medieval literature, this text examines how Bridget Lane's cures relate to folk- and herbal medicine traditions, whether recipes preserved vestiges of magic and spiritual healing, details on ingredients and their effects, and ways certain recipes have been adapted to the modern kitchen.Based on a comprehensive analysis of how the people of the eighteenth-century understood ailments, Mrs. Lane's guide and the attendant commentary is intended for students, lovers of history, and anyone interested in the social sciences. Join an eighteenth-century housewife and discover all she did in the kitchen to protect and help her family with "It Has Helped to Admiration."

In this comprehensive and historically rich study, author Vincent DiMarco shares three original, never-before published cookery manuscripts from eighteenth-century England. Taken from the author's private collection, the manuscripts contain over five hundred recipes in their original form, but DiMarco further enhances the text with expert commentary and revitalizes one hundred of the recipes for today's kitchen with modern instructions. Originally written by authors who were accomplished householders and talented cooks, the manuscripts detail the culinary customs that were highly valued by family and friends and were intended to be passed to subsequent generations. To enhance the hundreds of culinary and "domestic" recipes contained in the collection, DiMarco provides an overview of the recipes, explains their ingredients, describes cooking methods and kitchen equipment, and points out traditional and innovative features. He then offers modern adaptations of many of the recipes and provides U.S. measurements along with British equivalents. Rich in detail and brimming with culinary history, this collection offers a unique social and cultural perspective into eighteenth century British food and tradition and provides the contemporary adaptations that bring that tradition to life.