Today, we have an excerpt from A History of Delusions by Victoria Shepherd, an intriguing history of delusions. Here’s the synopsis:
The Glass King, a Substitute Husband and a Walking Corpse
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- The King of France – thinking he was made of glass – was terrified he might shatter… and he wasn’t alone.
- After the Emperor met his end at Waterloo, an epidemic of Napoleons piled into France’s asylums.
- Throughout the nineteenth century, dozens of middle-aged women tried to convince their physicians that they were, in fact, dead.
For centuries we’ve dismissed delusions as something for doctors to sort out behind locked doors. But delusions are more than just bizarre quirks – they hold the key to collective anxieties and traumas.
In this groundbreaking history, Victoria Shepherd uncovers stories of delusions from medieval times to the present day and implores us to identify reason in apparent madness.
Now, read on for the excerpt…
Today, we have an excerpt from The Empress and the English Doctor by Lucy Ward, an account of how Catherine the Great worked to combat the smallpox epidemic that was ravaging not only Russia but most of Europe. Here’s the synopsis:
Civilian Reader 