Women and the Practice of Medical Care in Early Modern Europe, 1400-1800

by Leigh Whaley

Women have engaged in healing from the beginning of history, often within the context of the home. This book studies the role, contributions and challenges faced by women healers in France, Spain, Italy and England, including medical practice among women in the Jewish and Muslim communities, from the later Middle Ages to approximately 1800.

322 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2011

Reviews

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really wonderful reference, very readable. I used this to help me in a book section I was writing, and I highlighted liberally, but this isn't just for an academic or research setting. Whaley tells the stories of these women in a very readable, chatty way. I've commented before on biases in nonfiction and while
Whaley has some, they aren't terribly overt, and I felt that she conveyed the information in a pretty unbiased way. The one exception is the referral to many positions taken by men & authorities towards women as misogynistic, and while I totally agree that it's misogynistic to subscribe to the belief that women are what happens when nature makes a mistake, and men are the stronger, more capable outcome of gestation, I'm not sure that calling it out as such is unbiased. Nevertheless, she did an amazing job with this book. Highly recommend to anyone interested in the topic.