Book
Cultures of Neurasthenia
From Beard to the First World War
-
Edited by:
Language:
English
Published/Copyright:
2001
Purchasable on brill.com
Purchase Book
About this book
Neurasthenia, meaning nerve weakness, was ‘invented’ in the United States as a disorder of modernity, caused by the fast pace of urban life. Soon after, from the early 1880s onwards, this modern disease crossed the Atlantic. Neurasthenia became much less ‘popular’ in Britain or the Netherlands than in Germany. Neurasthenia’s heyday continued into the first decade of the twentieth century. The label referred to conditions similar to those currently labelled as chronic fatigue syndrome. Why this rise and fall of neurasthenia, and why these differences in popularity
This book, which emerged out of an Anglo-Dutch-German conference held in June 2000, explores neurasthenia’s many-sided history from a comparative perspective.
This book, which emerged out of an Anglo-Dutch-German conference held in June 2000, explores neurasthenia’s many-sided history from a comparative perspective.
Author / Editor information
Marijke Gijswijt-Hofstra is Professor of Social and Cultural History at the University of Amsterdam. She has published on the granting of asylum in the Dutch Republic, deviance and tolerance (16th-20th centuries), witchcraft and cultures of misfortune (16th-20th centuries), the reception of homoeopathy in the Netherlands (19th-20th centuries), and on women and alternative health care in the Netherlands (20th century). She has recently edited in English, with Hilary Marland and Hans de Waardt, Illness and Healing Alternatives in Western Europe (London: Routledge, 1997), and, with Roy Porter, Cultures of Psychiatry and Mental Health Care in Postwar Britain and the Netherlands (Amsterdam: Rodopi, 1998).
Roy Porter is Professor of the Social History of Medicine at the Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of Medicine at University College London. Recent books include Doctor of Society: Thomas Beddoes and the Sick Trade in Late Enlightenment England (London: Routledge, 1991); London: A Social History (Hamish Hamilton, 1994); ‘The Greatest Benefit to Mankind’: A Medical History of Humanity (London: HarperCollins, 1997); and Enlightenment: Britain and the Creation of the Modern World (Harmondsworth: Allen Lane, 2000) and Bodies Politic: Disease, Death and the Doctors in Britain: 1650-1914 (London: Reaktion Books, 2001). He is co-author of The History of Bethlam (London: Routledge, 1997) and of Gout: The Patrician Malady (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1998).
Roy Porter is Professor of the Social History of Medicine at the Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of Medicine at University College London. Recent books include Doctor of Society: Thomas Beddoes and the Sick Trade in Late Enlightenment England (London: Routledge, 1991); London: A Social History (Hamish Hamilton, 1994); ‘The Greatest Benefit to Mankind’: A Medical History of Humanity (London: HarperCollins, 1997); and Enlightenment: Britain and the Creation of the Modern World (Harmondsworth: Allen Lane, 2000) and Bodies Politic: Disease, Death and the Doctors in Britain: 1650-1914 (London: Reaktion Books, 2001). He is co-author of The History of Bethlam (London: Routledge, 1997) and of Gout: The Patrician Malady (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1998).
Reviews
"The volume is an important addition to the historical literature on neurasthenia and should be welcomed as a significant contribution to scholarship." - in: Journal of the History of Behavioral Sciences, Vol. 42, No. 1 (2006)
"Cultures of Neurasthenia is a welcome contribution, not only to history of medicine but also to broader social and cultural history general. …This collection is an inspiring invitation to medical and social historians to join forces and embark on more comparative work." - in: Wellcome History, Vol. 22 (2003)
"…a fascinating and colourful book … and a valuable contribution to the history of psychiatry and psychiatric treatment." - in: Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy, Vol. 5, No. 2 (2002)
"Wer sich also über die Neurasthenie informieren will, greift mit Gewinn zu diesem Sammelband." - in: Gesnerus, Swiss Journal of the History of Medicine and Sciences, Vol. 59 (2002)
"…varied and thought-provoking… […] This is […] a timely and welcome volume." - in: Social History of Medicine, Vol. 15, No. 3 (2002)
"…worthwhile…" – Mark Welch, in: Metapsychology Online Book Reviews (2002)
"…a great collection that deserves a wide readership…" - in: Medical History, 47(2) (April 2003)
"Cultures of Neurasthenia is a welcome contribution, not only to history of medicine but also to broader social and cultural history general. …This collection is an inspiring invitation to medical and social historians to join forces and embark on more comparative work." - in: Wellcome History, Vol. 22 (2003)
"…a fascinating and colourful book … and a valuable contribution to the history of psychiatry and psychiatric treatment." - in: Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy, Vol. 5, No. 2 (2002)
"Wer sich also über die Neurasthenie informieren will, greift mit Gewinn zu diesem Sammelband." - in: Gesnerus, Swiss Journal of the History of Medicine and Sciences, Vol. 59 (2002)
"…varied and thought-provoking… […] This is […] a timely and welcome volume." - in: Social History of Medicine, Vol. 15, No. 3 (2002)
"…worthwhile…" – Mark Welch, in: Metapsychology Online Book Reviews (2002)
"…a great collection that deserves a wide readership…" - in: Medical History, 47(2) (April 2003)
Topics
Publishing information
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
eBook published on:
August 22, 2016
eBook ISBN:
9789004333406
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
Main content:
407
eBook ISBN:
9789004333406
