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Beschreibung

A TIMES BEST BOOK OF 2022 SO FAR

Shortlisted for the Pushkin House Book Prize 2022

'Sparkling history...with a fairytale atmosphere of sleigh rides, royal palaces and heroic risk-taking' The Times

A killer virus...an all-powerful Empress...an encounter cloaked in secrecy...the astonishing true story.

Within living memory, smallpox was a dreaded disease. Over human history it has killed untold millions. Back in the eighteenth century, as epidemics swept Europe, the first rumours emerged of an effective treatment: a mysterious method called inoculation.

But a key problem remained: convincing people to accept the preventative remedy, the forerunner of vaccination. Arguments raged over risks and benefits, and public resistance ran high. As smallpox ravaged her empire and threatened her court, Catherine the Great took the momentous decision to summon the Quaker physician Thomas Dimsdale to St Petersburg to carry out a secret mission that would transform both their lives. Lucy Ward expertly unveils the extraordinary story of Enlightenment ideals, female leadership and the fight to promote science over superstition.

'A rich and wonderfully urgent work of history' Tristram Hunt

A TIMES BEST BOOK OF 2022 SO FAR

Shortlisted for the Pushkin House Book Prize 2022

'Sparkling history...with a fairytale atmosphere of sleigh rides, royal palaces and heroic risk-taking' The Times

A killer virus...an all-powerful Empress...an encounter cloaked in secrecy...the astonishing true story.

Within living memory, smallpox was a dreaded disease. Over human history it has killed untold millions. Back in the eighteenth century, as epidemics swept Europe, the first rumours emerged of an effective treatment: a mysterious method called inoculation.

But a key problem remained: convincing people to accept the preventative remedy, the forerunner of vaccination. Arguments raged over risks and benefits, and public resistance ran high. As smallpox ravaged her empire and threatened her court, Catherine the Great took the momentous decision to summon the Quaker physician Thomas Dimsdale to St Petersburg to carry out a secret mission that would transform both their lives. Lucy Ward expertly unveils the extraordinary story of Enlightenment ideals, female leadership and the fight to promote science over superstition.

'A rich and wonderfully urgent work of history' Tristram Hunt

Über den Autor

Lucy Ward is a writer and former journalist for the Guardian and Independent. As a Westminster Lobby correspondent, she campaigned for greater women's representation. From 2010-12, she lived with her family in Moscow, renewing her interest in Russian history. After growing up in Manchester, she studied Early and Middle English at Balliol College, Oxford. She now lives in Essex.

Inhaltsverzeichnis
Preface: The Silver Lancet

Introduction: The Speckled Monster

1 The Doctor

2 The Deadly Lottery

3 The Empress

4 The Invitation

5 The Preparations

6 The Inoculations

7 The New Fashion

8 The Impact

9 The Celebrity

10 The Last Meeting

Epilogue: The Legacy

Acknowledgements

Further Reading

Notes

Index
Details
Erscheinungsjahr: 2023
Genre: Geschichte, Importe
Rubrik: Geisteswissenschaften
Medium: Taschenbuch
Inhalt: Kartoniert / Broschiert
ISBN-13: 9780861545186
ISBN-10: 0861545184
Sprache: Englisch
Einband: Kartoniert / Broschiert
Autor: Ward, Lucy
Hersteller: Oneworld Publications
Verantwortliche Person für die EU: Libri GmbH, Europaallee 1, D-36244 Bad Hersfeld, gpsr@libri.de
Maße: 198 x 132 x 35 mm
Von/Mit: Lucy Ward
Erscheinungsdatum: 06.06.2023
Gewicht: 0,31 kg
Artikel-ID: 122048552

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