Frances Burney and the Doctors: Patient Narratives Then and Now

Frances Burney is recognized as an influential novelist and playwright, but her medical writings in private letters and journals have gained attention in recent years. John Wiltshire argues that Burney pioneered the pathography genre, which explores ethical issues and conflicts between patients and doctors. Through her dramatic accounts of medical events, including her own operation and the madness of George III, Burney sheds light on the changing conditions of medical practice in the modern world.

\n Format: Hardback
\n Length: 220 pages
\n Publication date: 24 October 2019
\n Publisher: Cambridge University Press
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Frances Burney, a renowned novelist and playwright, has garnered growing attention in recent years for her medical writings, which are housed in her private letters and journals. John Wiltshire has championed Burney as the pioneering figure in the modern genre of pathography, also known as the illness narrative. Through her vivid and dramatic accounts of various medical events, including her own infamous operation without anesthesia and her observations of significant medical occurrences, such as the madness of George III and the smallpox inoculation of her son, Burney uncovers the ethical dilemmas and conflicts that arise between patients and doctors. These accounts are interconnected with a range of contemporary narratives that depict similar events within the context of modern public hospitals. Burney's pioneering work in this genre continues to make a substantial impact on our understanding of medical practice in the contemporary world.

Frances Burney, a renowned novelist and playwright, has garnered growing attention in recent years for her medical writings, which are housed in her private letters and journals. John Wiltshire has championed Burney as the pioneering figure in the modern genre of pathography, also known as the illness narrative. Through her vivid and dramatic accounts of various medical events, including her own infamous operation without anesthesia and her observations of significant medical occurrences, such as the madness of George III and the smallpox inoculation of her son, Burney uncovers the ethical dilemmas and conflicts that arise between patients and doctors. These accounts are interconnected with a range of contemporary narratives that depict similar events within the context of modern public hospitals. Burney's pioneering work in this genre continues to make a substantial impact on our understanding of medical practice in the contemporary world.

\n Weight: 458g\n
Dimension: 230 x 159 x 18 (mm)\n
ISBN-13: 9781108476362\n \n