Marketplace of the Marvelous: The Strange Origins of Modern Medicine

by Erika Janik

An entertaining introduction to the quacks, snake-oil salesmen, and charlatans, who often had a point
 
Despite rampant scientific innovation in nineteenth-century America, traditional medicine still adhered to ancient healing methods, subjecting patients to bleeding, blistering, and induced vomiting and sweating. Facing such horrors, many patients ran with open arms to burgeoning practices that promised new ways to cure their ills. Hydropaths offered cures using “healing waters” and tight wet-sheet wraps. Phineas Parkhurst Quimby experimented with magnets and tried to replace “bad,” diseased thoughts with “good,” healthy thoughts, while Daniel David Palmer reportedly restored a man’s hearing by knocking on his vertebrae. Lorenzo and Lydia Fowler used their fingers to “read” their clients’ heads, claiming that the topography of one’s skull could reveal the intricacies of one’s character. Lydia Pinkham packaged her Vegetable Compound and made a famous family business from the homemade cure-all. And Samuel Thomson, rejecting traditional medicine, introduced a range of herbal remedies for a vast array of woes, supplemented by the curative powers of poetry.
 
Bizarre as these methods may seem, many are the precursors of today’s notions of healthy living. We have the nineteenth-century practice of “medical gymnastics” to thank for today’s emphasis on regular exercise, and hydropathy’s various water cures for the notion of regular bathing and the mantra to drink “eight glasses of water a day.” And much of the philosophy of health introduced by these alternative methods is reflected in today’s patient-centered care and holistic medicine, which takes account of the body and spirit.

Moreover, these entrepreneurial alternative healers paved the way for women in medicine. Shunned by the traditionalists and eager for converts, many of the masters of these new fields embraced the training of women in their methods. Some women, like Pinkham, were able to break through the barriers to women working to become medical entrepreneurs themselves. In fact, next to teaching, medicine attracted more women than any other profession in the nineteenth century, the majority of them in “irregular” health systems.
 
These eccentric ideas didn’t make it into modern medicine without a fight, of course. As these new healing methods grew in popularity, traditional doctors often viciously attacked them with cries of “quackery” and pressed legal authorities to arrest, fine, and jail irregulars for endangering public safety. Nonetheless, these alternative movements attracted widespread support—from everyday Americans and the famous alike, including Mark Twain, Louisa May Alcott, and General Ulysses S. Grant—with their messages of hope, self-help, and personal empowerment.
 
Though many of these medical fads faded, and most of their claims of magical cures were discredited by advances in medical science, a surprising number of the theories and ideas behind the quackery are staples in today’s health industry. Janik tells the colorful stories of these “quacks,” whose oftentimes genuine wish to heal helped shape and influence modern medicine.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Science, Medicine, Medical, Health, Historical

352 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

Erika Janik is a freelance writer and a radio producer at Wisconsin Public Radio. She is the author of Apple: A Global History, Madison: A History of a Model City, A Short History of Wisconsin, and Odd Wisconsin: Amusing, Perplexing and Unlikely Stories from Wisconsin’s Past.

Interested in nearly everything, Erika writes on local food and drink, Wisconsin history, medical history, and green living, among other things. Her work has appeared on Smithsonian.com, Mental Floss, Midwest Living, Isthmus, the Wisconsin Magazine of History, the Wisconsin State Journal, The Onion, MyMidwest, Wisconsin Natural Resources magazine, and in the book Renewing the Countryside: Wisconsin (University of Wisconsin Press, 2007). Her essays have also been featured on Wisconsin Public Radio’s “Wisconsin Life.”

Originally from Redmond, Washington, Erika now knows more about Wisconsin history than she ever thought possible. She has a BA in history from Linfield College (2002), an MA in American history from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (2004), and an MA in journalism from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (2006).

Reviews

[Grady · Rating 5 out of 5]

‘One man’s trash is another man’s treasure’

This very intelligent, informed, fascinating and entertaining book will likely appear on the bestseller list - if the PR for it is on its toes. Erika Janik has researched the history of medicine, particularly medicine in the United States from the 17th century to the present and has uncovered some gripping information that should alter the manner in which holistic medicine is viewed today. While more and more people are struggling to get off the obesity wagon and the chronic disease train and finally paying attention to nutrition, forsaking processed foods and fast foods and refined sugar etc, and acknowledging the importance of daily exercise, paying attention to pollution and its effects on our environment, and embracing Eastern medicine in the form of acupuncture and meditation – while these changes are gaining hold of our thinking, Erika Janik has explored the origins of the current forms of medical advances and made some rather startling discoveries that deserve widespread acknowledgment.

In a book sprinkled with old photographs and minibiographies of such people like Mark Twain, Louisa May Alcott, Mary Baker Eddy, Samuel Thomson and many more – names that put faces to incidents and trends so that we can connect more easily – Janik discusses the origins of snake oil (many types actually contained viable medical cures such as quinine for malaria, etc), phrenology, hydropathy (the importance of baths and of hydration by drinking copious amounts of water each day as a means of staying healthy or combating disease), homeopathy, patent medicines, osteopathy, chiropractic, hypnosis, phlebotomy (blood letting) and other branches of alternative medicine. She also discusses the rather primitive status of medicine before the 20th century – doctors were not in general well-educated nor particularly intelligent and certainly not interventional diagnosticians but rather the man who was called when auntie felt puny to offer very basic archaic thoughts. Yes, it is all very humorous from one stance, but all of her information, once thoroughly digested, reveals that much of what is practiced today has its roots in some of what was thought to be quackery – only now we recognize those simple things like ‘medical gymnastics’ as healthy exercise programs, the use of increased water intake to hydrate the body, and many of the other things that the ‘scientific revolution’ deemed quackery are now accepted as viable modes of therapy for many diseases.

Erika Janik writes extraordinarily well. She has taken the time to research her subject thoroughly and provides copious documenting footnotes and references, while at the same time she has a keen sense of humor that places all of this information in perspective. Brilliantly written and thunderously appealing, this is a book every doctor should be required to read, and everyone concerned about the rise of today’s machine driven medicine should own. The book will make you laugh and will also raise an eyebrow and utter a gasp. Very highly recommended for everyone.

Grady Harp

[Stephanie Molnar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book, if not a bit long-winded.

[Betty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bleeding, blistering, leeches, patent medicine, herbalism, mesmerism. We've all heard of these or most of these as the beginnings of modern medicine. Much of today's health regimens have their roots in hydropathy and homeopathy; cleanliness, nutrition and exercise for example. Where hydropathy preached drinking water measured in pints many times in a day, the general recommendation is 8 ounces several times a day. Taking the water "cure" by literally gallons of water, bathing in very cold water, and being wrapped in cloth soaked in extremely cold water (in winter sometimes crystalized with frost and ice) sometime after the American Civil War segued into warmer water, bathing pools, eventually saunas, hot tubs and exercise of a more practical bent along with nutritious foods, especially at a time when food was home-grown.

Some things seem to go on forever, though. Some herbal medicines for women that came out of the early nineteenth century I most definitely recall being forced to take in the 1950s, in particular Lydia Pinkham's herbal concoction for women's health, which goes back as far as the 1870s, simply because my mother had taken it, my grandmother had taken it, and presumably my great-grandmother. It was the most horrible medicine I ever tasted which brought the comment when I complained "It has to taste bad to be good for you!" I'm sure many readers have heard that comment one time or another. This remarkable woman, through refinement, produced a medicine that actually worked and works still well over a century later. Lydia Pinkham managed to break a hold by men in medicine.

Even today there are many different ways to try to get well. Everything from spiritual, hypnosis, every "new" cure. One might say everything old is new again when it comes to desperate people seeking help. Even leeches are sometimes put to use today. I found the journey to be interesting and educational. Did everything work? Often more than one might think, but then there is always the placebo effect, people will believe they have been cured whether they have or weren't actually suffering a disease as such or not. Mind over matter even then. Or perhaps because they want to believe they are cured.

So, through the centuries, medicine has played a major role in spite of itself. So many trials, so many ideas: some rash, some sensible, some moving forward and some backward. Among the later trials leaned more toward physical intervention, namely chiropractic and/or osteopathy. Almost all these ideas for healing have something beneficial, but often outweighed by obstacles. Still, it is interesting to follow the many ideas and reasons for many treatments. Some still exist in one form or another, others have slipped away back into the murky beginnings. I found this book to be very comprehensive and fascinating. Erika Janik should be commended for the extensive research, and for writing such a tome while still providing an ease of reading on such a strong topic. I learned a lot about historic medicine and treatment, what worked and what didn't, and how in the end modern medicine came to be. Were the early "doctors" charlatans and quacks? Maybe not so much. Kooky? Definitely, but the end result was sometimes right for the wrong reasons.

[Melora · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm giving this four stars, rather than the three and a half my “enjoyment” level would suggest, because it is very well done and my moderate enthusiasm was a result of my interest level in the subject, not the author's handling of it.

Janek begins the book with an introduction to the subject, “alternative” or “nonregular” medical treatments in the United States in the 19th century, and devotes the next seven chapters to fairly in-depth explorations of the rise and spread of seven “alternate” health systems. She covers Samuel Thomson's botanic medicines; phrenology; hydropathy; homeopathy; mesmerism and Christian Science; patent medicines; and osteopathy and chiropractic medicines. In her conclusion she discusses the reasons for the decline of some alternative treatments, and also reasons that some have persisted.

Each chapter has much that is interesting and entertaining. I particularly enjoyed the way Janik points out how social and historical trends and situations influenced the spread and permutations of treatments. She discusses ways in which values of self-sufficiency, anti-intellectualism, and democratization encouraged the spread and success of treatments which denied the need for medical professionals early in the 19th century, and then the ways in which advances in science later in the century, such as developments in the germ theory of disease, x-rays, and sterile surgery, led to a shift back toward a preference for conventional medicine.

While many of her characters are very eccentric, and some of their ideas are beyond peculiar, Janik provides a nice balance by presenting the shortcomings of many of the “traditional” treatments (bleeding, blistering, etc.) of the time. The connection between alternative medical treatments and abolitionism, women’s rights, transcendentalism, temperance, and other social reform movements was new to me, and Janik's observation that “The horrors of the Civil War had shattered the peaceful vision social reformers had promulgated earlier in the century of humanity's perfection through right living and self control,” seems logically to extend to a loss of idealism about the perfectibility of human health.

Again, all of the chapters were interesting, though some more than others. I would have enjoyed them more if they'd been a bit... shorter. A few more topics, covered in the same number of pages, would have livened things up for me. The author mentions several medical/health treatments, such as Grahamism and Naturopathy, which I would have liked to hear more about. Still, that's a minor complaint. Janik's style is engaging, her presentation is well balanced, and she ties social history and science together very nicely.

I received Marketplace of the Marvelous through LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program, on the understanding that I would write a review, but that the content of my review would not affect my future chances of receiving books through the program.

[Biblio Files (takingadayoff) · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's probably occurred to you, as you read the news, that modern medicine is a work very much in progress. Electro-shock therapy, hormone supplements, early AIDs "cures" all out the window to be replaced by something else that doctors swear by, until tomorrow. It's almost inevitable that if you are alive in fifty years, you will consider today's medical procedures as primitive as bloodletting and lobotomies seem to us now.

Erika Janik's book is about some of the common practices of the 19th century, not the mainstream medicine of the time, but what she calls irregular medicine. Phrenology, hydrology, mesmerism, and others were commonly used practices by non-doctors and even a few traditionally trained doctors. She shows how seemingly bizarre methods were accepted by people who had no access to regular doctors, or who were more comfortable relying on less invasive procedures than those of mainstream medicine, or who had actually experienced relief by using the unorthodox procedures, if only from a placebo effect.

Janik explores several issues while examining irregular medicine in a serious way. She notes that some of the therapies are in use even now, having achieved some legitimacy or perhaps never having gone out of fashion, such as chiropractic. Another theme is that women were often practitioners of irregular medicine, having been banned from most legitimate medical schools. They treated not only their own families, but often other women in the community who were reluctant or unable to visit degreed doctors.

Marketplace of the Marvelous is a serious, well-researched but still entertaining look at alternative forms of treating ailments in the 19th century and into the 20th.

[Anthony Norelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well-researched and well-written. Surprises galore, even for this history buff. Every MD, DO, DC, ND, NP, PA, RN, LPN, and the rest of the the medical alphabet soup should read this. Knowing who went before you and what they did would go a long way to explain the deep resistance to so much of medical science and acumen we see today. And maybe, just maybe, help us find a way to reconnect medical personnel and patients.

US medical history doesn't get a great deal of attention, even during medical training - which likely helps explain the $#&%show that is our medical system in 2022. Don't get me wrong - medical personnel do not get honorary degrees, and deserve the respect that should accompany the title they have earned. They didn't break the system; trying to keep the system from flying apart is breaking them.

Ultimately, the patient seeks relief, and whatever works is welcomed.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting survey of many of the alternatives to legitimate medicine that appeared prior to the 20th century. While many were passing fads or outright hoaxes, many added at least something to modern medical practice. Examples of the latter would be hydropathy and osteopathy.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was amazing.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Marketplace of the Marvelous" is a very engaging, very well-researched book detailing the history of American medicine from its roots in blood-letting, phrenology and water cures to the rise of alternative medicine and its clashing relationship with modern medicine. Janik does an excellent job of explaining how some of these odd remedies helped shape modern medicine, such as Victorian water cures emphasizing the importance of hygiene. However, I couldn’t give the book five stars because of the last summarizing chapter. An appeal for open-mindedness towards alternative medicine seemed inappropriate, especially after it follows a chapter on chiropractic medicine (which really should’ve stressed the dangers of alignments, particularly neck adjustments). As Carl Sagan once said, “It pays to keep an open mind, but not so open your brains fall out”.

While alternative medicine may have helped shape modern medicine, it is absurd to give it equal consideration. Janik writes, “Attacks on alternative medicine tend to focus exclusively on whether alternative medicine works according to the criteria of efficacy of modern scientific medicine” (266). Well, yes, of course. What other method would one use? Earlier in the same chapter she talks about the placebo effect and how it’s disappointing that our doctors and pharmaceutical companies reject so many meds that are not proven to be more effective than placebo alone; however, these rigid trials are absolutely necessary. For example, is it really ethical to con a patient into paying money for simple sugar water? Yet, homeopathy has a devoted following. Yes, the placebo effect works to an extent but if a drug cannot prove more effective than a sugar pill then it simply does not work. If placebo effect is “good enough” would these devoted followers like to try some homeopathic birth control?

Other than the last chapter, I really enjoyed this history book. If anyone wants to read more about the science behind alternative medicine and its efficacy, I highly recommend "Trick or Treatment: The Undeniable Facts About Alternative Medicine" by Simon Singh and Edzard Ernst, M.D.

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Marketplace of Marvels" is a history about "regular" and "irregular" remedies in 19th century America. The author talked about how poorly regulated "regular" doctors were at the time and about their main methods of treating people (like bleeding and vomiting). She then talked about some of the ideas that emerged at that time which people thought worked better or were easier on your body.

She described the people behind the ideas, the ideas, and how they developed over time. Parts of these "irregular" systems can still be found today in alternative medicine and in "regular" medical practices. It was surprising to discover where some of these ideas came from. It makes you think about some of the things we accept today as "of course it works!" without really understanding why it works. The "irregular" methods that the author covered are: Thomson's herbal medicines, phrenology (head bump readings), hydropathy--the (cold) water cure, homeopathy (highly diluted herbal waters, like-cures-like idea), hypnotism and Mesmer, patent medicines, osteopathy, and chiropractic.

I found the book interesting and easy to follow. I'd recommend this to history buffs interested in the history of medicine.

I received this review copy from the publisher through Amazon Vine.

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book from the Goodreads First reads giveaway program. Thank you author/publisher for the opportunity to read and review your newest book.

Marketplace of the Marvelous: The Strange Origins of Modern Medicine by Erika Janik is a wealth of knowledge about the history of alternative medicines in the nineteenth century .

The book explores several forms of alternative medicine:

A few examples:

Botanical Medicine-using plants (herbs,leaves.roots) to prevent and cure disease

Phrenology-the study of the structure of human skulls to determine a persons character

Hydropathy-healing with water internally and externally

Homeopathy-curing ailments based on like cures like

The book discusses the origination and history of each form. Also discusses the role women played in alternative medicine. Alternative medicines ideas still make an appearance in todays holistic and modern medicine.

This book would be an excellent place to start if a person wanted to further research this topic .

[Jeremy · Rating 4 out of 5]

(I received this book from the Goodreads First Reads giveaway program.)

I enjoyed the substance of the material. The cyclical nature of "fad starts, gets denounced, goes viral, gets denounced louder, founder does something incredibly stupid, fad ends" was particularly amusing; and the book certainly paints "regular medicine" in a different light. It was also interesting when one of the alternative systems had a very sound basis, but no real explanation of why.

On the other hand, the book could have used a bit more of a liberal hand on the cutting floor. The first three chapters felt like they said everything they had to say, and then said it all again. I remember deciding at some point that I was going to start jumping to the next chapter when it felt like it started repeating itself, but thankfully the latter chapters did not suffer from this problem.

While it's not a page-turner, it is informative, and I'm glad to have read it.

[Marcia Hartsock · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating read as it explains the sorry state of healthcare in general in 19th century America, and the competition between 'regular' and 'irregular' medicine at that time and still today. Much of what we now accept as good health practices began as unproven concepts in hydrotherapy, mesmerism, phrenology homeopathy, and other 'irregular' remedies. Not just a historical read, the author connects past with present and gives good insight into the motives and philosophies of medical care over the last century.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

full of interesting information about the history of alternative medical treatments. a well-written and concise history. I imagine professionals would enjoy this as much as lay people.

[Nancy]

I skimmed thru this and gave up - it has tiny print and very historical

[Sarah]

I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.

[Ruthie Sellers · Rating 3 out of 5]

Makes me wonder if 100 years from now, they find our current medical practices ridiculous!