booksbeccabuys

A collection of medically focused mini-biographies of literary greats, most of who are connected by acquaintance and shared ailments. Although comprising some occasionally tenuous theories, Orwell’s Cough is fascinating whether you’re interested in literary or clinical history. It details the development of medicine via profiles of prolific authors plagued by the signature illnesses of bygone creative minds; mental disorder and venereal disease. From a collection of well researched essays Ross has put together a sinuous and gritty read that will enable you to see the writers of your favourite works (and their doctors) in a new, and not altogether flattering, light.

Tagged: antiobiotics, Bronte, Depression, Hawthorne, Jack London, James Joyce, medicine, Melville, Milton, Orwell, schizophrenia, Shakespeare, Swift, syphilis, Tuberculosis, Venereal disease, Yeats