The Surgeon, The Midwife, The Quack: How to Stay Alive in Renaissance England

by Alanna Skuse

Discover the remarkable birth of modern medicine... and how not to die in the Renaissance
'An entertaining history of medicine… Skuse brings a deep familiarity with the contemporary sources and a dry wit.' Dan Jones, The Sunday Times

The cliched view medicine in the Renaissance world is gore-splattered hacksaws, arsenic concoctions, the four humours and all those leeches…

Reality, however, proves somewhat different.

In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, a medical revolution was afoot. Physicians’ education was being formalised. Surgeons were documenting the intricacies of the human body with ever-greater skill. And, as European powers expanded into the New World, novel medicines and treatments were being discovered.

Alanna Skuse ventures into the bustling medical marketplace of Renaissance England – a world of travelling surgeons, prosthetics craftsmen, faith healers and snake oil merchants.
Discover domestic healers like Elizabeth Freke, a doyenne of folk remedies, always ready to dole out tonics and elixirs to her ailing neighbours. Browse the shelves of the early modern apothecary with Nicholas Culpeper as he lays the groundwork for the modern pharmacy. Meet the expert midwife Jane Sharp, successful author and pioneer of women's health. Join the intrepid plague doctor George Thomson as he braves London's Great Plague.

Humane and entrancing, The Surgeon, The Midwife, The Quack reveals the people and stories behind a scientific revolution.

'Fascinating.' Daily Mail

'Meticulously researched and deliciously detailed.' Victoria Shepherd, author of A History of Delusions

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Science, Audiobook, Medical

384 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 16, 2025

Reviews

[Laura✨ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an interesting read — a lively, fact‑packed dive into a variety of medical practices and professions in Stuart England. Skuse’s writing is incredibly engaging and surprisingly funny in places, making the history feel vivid rather than academic. It’s accessible to any reader curious about everyday life in the period, and never once drags or feels dry.

If you’re after a more scholarly deep‑dive, Skuse has other academic texts, but this one is perfect for anyone who wants to learn about life in the past and wants an entertaining narrative while doing so.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly accessible, often entertaining, with companionable narration by Danielle Cohen. With an abiding interest in the topic, there was little new here for me, but i enjoyed it anyway.

What was new will certainly stick with me—like the 14th-century practice of slicing open tiny animals and applying them to the body to “draw out” cancer by luring it to fresh meat. Not every practice is so shocking, but there are, of course, several. I appreciated that the author situates this lay-level history of medicine in the context of time, place, and circumstances.

Imagine... the things we think we know that will prove primitive or barbaric in the future.

[honor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really fun and very thorough account of the nuances of early modern medicine! I especially appreciated how frequently the actual texts themselves were quoted with clarifying notes on specific archaic vocabulary. I think I probably would’ve preferred to read this in book format; I’m not usually an audiobook person, but this was a lot of fun to listen to on commutes. Would highly recommend this to anyone looking for a comprehensive, but still focused and detailed account of this topic.

[Cat Reinecker · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW! The title caught my attention walking through the bookstore - but the stories enraptured! It was both a history of medicine and a glimpse into humanity in the Renaissance. At times gory, at other times human and heartfelt - great glimpse into what it means to be a doctor, and how far we have come medically.

[Roisin Blackmore · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very surface level introduction to the 16-18c medical marketplace. Some chapters had great potential to be interesting (e.g mental illness), but lacked engaging content.

[dean VetUk · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. the level of research and detail is high. at some points my partner and I laughed out loud and will honour the book by getting a plaque made for our "Room of Easement".