Description
Book SynopsisDetails Thomas Trotter's important contributions, as a naval surgeon and after, to the eradication of scurvy and typhus, to the study of addiction, and to improved health and safety in mines. Thomas Trotter, after studying medicine at Edinburgh, began his naval career as a surgeon's mate in 1779 and saw continuous service up to the peace of 1802, rising as a result of great abilities and the right patronage to become Physician to the Channel Fleet, and being present at the great battles of Dogger Bank in 1781 and the Glorious First of June in 1794. As Physician to the Channel Fleet, he was a major player in the conquest of scurvy and the control of typhus and smallpox in the navy. After the peace he settled in Newcastle where he produced pioneering work on alcoholism and neurosis, as a result of which he is regarded as one of the founders of the field of addiction studies. This book provides an intimate account of naval life in the great age of sail from the perspective of a surgeon, describing the impact of Enlightenment ideas and new medical techniques, and showing how improved health was a crucial factor in making possible the British fleet's great victories in this period. BRIAN VALE is a maritime historian, whose books include Independence or Death: British sailors and Brazilian Independence (Tauris 1996), A Frigate of King George, Life and Duty on a British Man-of-War (Tauris 2001) and The Audacious Admiral Cochrane (Conway 2004). GRIFFITH EDWARDS, Emeritus Professor at King's College, London, is one of the country's leading experts on addiction. His publications include Alchohol: the Ambiguous Molecule (Penguin 2000) and Matters of Substance (Penguin 2005).
Trade ReviewAs expected from Boydell, the book is well-produced and illustrated. * ANNUAL BULLETIN OF HISTORICAL LITERATURE *
The authors' evident enthusiasms and meticulous scholarship will surely encourage maritime historians, particularly those interested in naval medicine, to search out this book. * INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MARITIME HISTORY *
A well-written and well-paced book that is essential reading for any historian of Nelson's Navy. * MEDICAL HISTORY *
A commendable history. * JOURNAL OF THE HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND ALLIED SCIENCES *
[The authors] must be commended for their excellent contribution to furthering our understanding of this period. Their well-written and superbly researched biography will be welcomed by scholars and students of naval history, medical history, slavery and the Atlantic World. * THE NORTHERN MARINER *
A core addition to any history collection with a focus on medicine or military. * THE MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW *
Table of ContentsThe Edinburgh Experience Medicine at Sea HMS Berwick Surgeon of a Slaver Northumbrian Interlude Recalled to the Colours The Royal Hospital, Haslar Physician to the Channel Fleet The Conquest of Scurvy Shore-based in Plymouth Honours and Half Pay Married Life and Civilian Practice An Essay on Drunkenness A War of Pamphlets A View of the Nervous Temperament Physician as Poet and Playwright Thomas Trotter and the Great Theatre of Life
