History
Melanie King
Can Onions Cure Ear-ache? Medical Advice from 1769
9:30am | Thursday 13 September 2012Tickets: | Duration: | Venue: |
£N/A | 1 Hour | Methodist Church |
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This was an Oxford Literary Festival 2012 Event.
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William Buchan’s Domestic Medicine was the book an 18th-century Briton would have turned to if they were struck by illness. The Scottish physician recommended cow dung for some common ailments, prescribed crushed oyster shells for heartburn and counted powdered Spanish fly and genital trusses among his stranger bits of advice. Nevertheless, some of it still holds true today, such as eating a varied and healthy diet and plenty of fresh air and exercise. Historical non-fiction writer Melanie King will discuss this new version of Buchan’s work which she has edited.
Domestic Medicine would have been found in coffee-houses, apothecary shops and the private homes of late 18th-century Britain. Fletcher Christian and his fellow mutineers ensured they took a copy as they fled the HMS Bounty.
King worked on a horse farm in Australia, did voluntary work with victims of torture in London and travelled widely in Asia before settling in Oxfordshire as a writer. Her works include The Dying Game: A Curious History of Death and Prophets, Seers and Visionaries.