Sex and Disease in Early Modern London

FAIN: FEL-272465-21

Olivia Alton Weisser
University of Massachusetts, Boston (Boston, MA 02125-3300)

Research and writing leading to a book on the medical and social history of venereal disease in 17th and 18th century London.

I aim to write a lively, accessible history of venereal disease at the turn of the eighteenth century. The project takes an innovative approach by situating the disease within the texture of pre-modern London life. Rather than focus on institutional records or writing by elite men, the book grounds disease in the gardens, streets, and taverns where patients and healers discussed the disease, swapped remedies, and negotiated cures. In focusing on the words and lives of sufferers, as well as a particularly vocal group of clap-curers who lived and worked in the crowded streets of London, the book is intended to appeal to a broad audience. I use accessible prose and human stories, but without sacrificing the rigor of thoughtful scholarship. More broadly, the project aims to create a new model for studying the history of disease by drawing on the methods of cultural history, as well as material history, the history of gender and sexuality, and literary studies.