快猫短视频

The Herbalist: Nicholas Culpeper and the fight for medical freedom by Benjamin Woolley, Harper Collins, 拢16.99, ISBN 0007126573 Reviewed by Roy Herbert

THERE is not a lot known about the life of Nicholas Culpeper, who lived in 17th-century England in times of enormous turbulence, which were capped by the execution of Charles I. So Benjamin Woolley gives us a remarkable and superbly enjoyable history of the period in which Nicholas provides the highlights, as he appears in events from his extraordinary life.

Early days in Sussex aroused Culpeper鈥檚 interest in herbal remedies. He studied at the University of Cambridge and eventually became an apothecary in London. As a natural rebel, he was opposed to the doctors monopolising medical practice, to their great profit, through the College of Physicians. Exclusive use of Latin by the college seemed to make its grip on healing mysteries and methods unshakeable. Fighting on Parliament鈥檚 side in the civil war, Nicholas was badly wounded in the first battle of Newbury.

Back in London, he published a translation into English of the college鈥檚 Pharmacopoeia. The physicians were outraged, especially as Culpeper also included instructions on how to use the cures and sold the book at an affordable price. His later publication, The English Physician Enlarged, or the Herbal became another bestseller.

Woolley鈥檚 The Herbalist is riveting and should have the same success. Among the book鈥檚 delights are frequent quotations from contemporary documents, from a period notable for magnificent language.