Hello, everyone. I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. Anyone in the mood to learn about death, the dying and plagues? There's a certain book that kept me hooked and shocked me more than once about a sickness that almost destroyed Victorian Vritain Britain, and that's still around us today. I'm talking about Cholera: The Victorian Plague, by Amanda J. Thomas. Thanks to the publisher for sending me a copy!
This is a very detailed account (sometimes a bit too much for my taste) of what happened when cholera spread during the Victorian era, how it affected Victorians, their customs, their perceptions and changed their world in many ways. If you are in for a wild, morbid ride, this is definitely your kind of reading.
Amanda J. Thomas explains many aspects of cholera as a plague, leading you to understand what as it that made it so disastrous and why it had such a strong effect in society. From rooms filled to the ceiling with bodies to orphanages that neglected their children, she didn't hold back in any way.
I won't lie, this book was a bit thick and heavy at times due to the large amounts of details, some of which I felt didn't add too much to the reading. There were several lists, numbering details and sometimes directions that got me lost as I advanced, so be aware that there is a lot of information here that may make your mind wander a little. However, if you like to totally immerse yourself and get an explicit, complete picture of what it was to live during such a time like, then pay no attention.
Cholera: The Victorian Plague was amazing. I liked how many new things I learned, many of which about what you can say about a society because of how they handle death and their dead. It's undeniable that this kind of situation changes people, and cholare certainly did. You get a real undertsanding of what was happening and even how studies on the matter have evolved until recently. Hint: Don't get to relaxed, this invisible killer is still around.
About Amanda J. Thomas:
Amanda Thomas is a professional genealogist and author, as well as a visiting lecturer in Social History at Morley College, London. She has previously worked in journalism and PR, for television companies including The Walt Disney Company. Amanda edits the journal, The Clock Tower, for Medway Archives and Local Studies Centre since 2006 and published The Lambeth Cholera Outbreak of 1848-1849. In 2012, Amanda was approached by Wall to Wall Productions to advise on Series Ten of the BBC's Who Do You Think You Are? She will also take part in the BBC4 documentary series The Flying Archaeologist (broadcast in April and May 2013), with Time Team archaeologist Ben Robinson.
Have you read this book? Would you recommend it or not? Let me know in the comments! Kinky regards, K!
- Print Length: 240 pages
- Publisher: Pen and Sword History (June 24, 2020)
- Publishing Date: June 24, 2020
- Genres: Death, History, Health, Medicine
- ISBN-10: 1526781816
- ISBN-13: 978-1526781819
- Rating: 4 / 5 stars
Discover the story of the disease that devastated the Victorian population, and brought about major changes in sanitation. Drawing on the latest scientific research and a wealth of archival material, Amanda Thomas uses firs-hand accounts, blending personal stories with an overview of the history of the disease and its devastating aftereffects on British society. This fascinating history of a catastrophic disease uncovers forgotten stories from each of the major cholera outbreaks in 1831-3, 1848-9, 1853-4 and 1866. Amanda Thomas reveals that Victorian theories about the disease were often closer to the truth than we might assume, among them the belief that cholera was spread by miasma, or foul air.
This is a very detailed account (sometimes a bit too much for my taste) of what happened when cholera spread during the Victorian era, how it affected Victorians, their customs, their perceptions and changed their world in many ways. If you are in for a wild, morbid ride, this is definitely your kind of reading.
Amanda J. Thomas explains many aspects of cholera as a plague, leading you to understand what as it that made it so disastrous and why it had such a strong effect in society. From rooms filled to the ceiling with bodies to orphanages that neglected their children, she didn't hold back in any way.
I won't lie, this book was a bit thick and heavy at times due to the large amounts of details, some of which I felt didn't add too much to the reading. There were several lists, numbering details and sometimes directions that got me lost as I advanced, so be aware that there is a lot of information here that may make your mind wander a little. However, if you like to totally immerse yourself and get an explicit, complete picture of what it was to live during such a time like, then pay no attention.
Cholera: The Victorian Plague was amazing. I liked how many new things I learned, many of which about what you can say about a society because of how they handle death and their dead. It's undeniable that this kind of situation changes people, and cholare certainly did. You get a real undertsanding of what was happening and even how studies on the matter have evolved until recently. Hint: Don't get to relaxed, this invisible killer is still around.
About Amanda J. Thomas:
Amanda Thomas is a professional genealogist and author, as well as a visiting lecturer in Social History at Morley College, London. She has previously worked in journalism and PR, for television companies including The Walt Disney Company. Amanda edits the journal, The Clock Tower, for Medway Archives and Local Studies Centre since 2006 and published The Lambeth Cholera Outbreak of 1848-1849. In 2012, Amanda was approached by Wall to Wall Productions to advise on Series Ten of the BBC's Who Do You Think You Are? She will also take part in the BBC4 documentary series The Flying Archaeologist (broadcast in April and May 2013), with Time Team archaeologist Ben Robinson.
Have you read this book? Would you recommend it or not? Let me know in the comments! Kinky regards, K!
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