Convalescence and Invalidism in Victorian Britain

An asset to researchers and students alike this two volume set contextualizes the drastically changing environment of nineteenth-century medicine not merely from the perspectives of famed medical experts, but also those of patients, nurses, caregivers, journalists, and social reformers. Students in particular will learn empathy through reading personal experiences of illness, as well as critical thinking by exploring the cultural debates spawned by systemic ill-health in the period. The physical experiences of both convalescence and invalidism were not confined to the upper class, but instead widely discussed and shared in Victorian Britain. Indeed, these bodily categories applied equally to the rich and poor, men and women, mental sufferers and those with physical disabilities. Given such wide applicability of the key terms, this collection of primary sources will provide readers with a diverse cross-section of Victorian voices, including well-known writers like Wilkie Collins, Harriet Martineau and Florence Nightingale, alongside volunteer caregivers, working-class autobiographers, and world travelers. Through such sources, these volumes will also shed light on major cultural themes for the nineteenth century as a whole, including touchstone topics like industrialization, empire, religion, and mental health.