O true Apothecary!
Next week I will be joining C. Allyn Pierson at the Romance Writers of America National Conference for a workshop/speech titled, “What’s With the Bloodletting? Medical Care in England Before 1900.” Both C. Allyn and I are in the medical profession in our “other, real” lives so this was great fun for us. We are covering the main 4 medical practitioners of the day – physician, surgeon, apothecary, and midwife/accoucheur – as well as touching on the big medical advances that happened. It is a talk that could easily take a week to present thoroughly that we are squeezing into about 50 minutes. Not easy! I have learned so much and am going to share my favorites as the educational thrust of this blog. Additionally, I want to encourage everyone to read on to the end of this post because I have several announcements to share.
Way back in October of 2012 C. Allyn shared her knowledge of medical history in the following blog posts:
Really Scary: Medicine in the Regency Era Part 1 and Part 2
Much of what she wrote on in those two posts will comprise our talk at the RWA. I took over the task of focusing on the apothecary and the midwife. Not quite as scary but definitely interesting!
Apothecary tools
“O true Apothecary! Thy drugs are quick. Thus with a kiss I die.” Romeo in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet
In Pride and Prejudice the apothecary Mr. Jones is called to aid the ill Jane Bennet. No doubt Austen’s low opinion shone through when she wrote that “no country advice could be of any service” followed by Mr. Jones diagnosing Jane’s violent cold “as might be supposed” and the advice to “return to bed” and promise for “some draughts” not particularly wow-inducing! At the time of P&Ps writing this opinion of a country apothecary was probably typical. But change was coming.
Apothecaries have been in every culture on down through the ages. It is an honored profession, even far in the ancient past, with thousands of years of herbal knowledge and experimentation behind it. In England the apothecary was originally part of the Grocers Guild, those folks who were in charge of licensing all merchants who sold edible-related goods. This became a big problem because basically anyone could obtain a license to set up a shop and sell pharmaceutical concoctions without taking the job seriously. Those who did were the oft referred to “quacks” who made wild claims of healing and called themselves “doctors” in some cases. This gave a very bad name to the legitimate apothecary who studied and performed his profession honorably. On top of that, being part of the tradesman class meant they could never be taken seriously as a medical professional.
Via a series of steps the apothecaries would change not only their place as a vital part of the medical system but the entire practice of medical care in England.
First was in 1617 when they were granted a royal charter by King James I, breaking from the Grocers Guild to become an autonomous group: The Worshipful Society of Apothecaries. Then, in 1673 they founded the Chelsea Physick Garden in London. This immense garden not only contained Europe’s richest collection of exotic healing plants from all of the world, it was also a place of shared learning and experimentation. You can still visit the Garden today.
Step three was a landmark case against the Royal College of Physicians in 1704 when apothecaries in London were granted the right to not only dispense medications but also to prescribe based on diagnosing a patient’s symptoms. Out of necessity apothecaries, often working alongside surgeons, had been doing this anyway. Winning this case legalized the practice and gave them the prestige they wanted.
However, there were still no standards of practice, regulated medications, or anything mass produced. To a degree this was great since the serious apothecary was also a chemist and researcher whose duty was to strive for improved health and healing through drugs. Being able to freely experiment was a boon. The bad part was the proliferation of the aforementioned quacks. This negative image affected all apothecaries.
Death and the Apothecary, or The Quack Doctor by Thomas Rowlandson, early 1800
So, with reform in mind, the Society of Apothecaries led the charge and in 1815 The Apothecaries Act was passed by Parliament. This act established a professional system of strict education, examination, and registration of not only ALL apothecaries in London but throughout ALL of the UK! This was unprecedented and a significant, radical shift toward the regulated medical care of modern day England, thanks to the apothecary. It also broadened their roles from mere drug-dispensers to “general practitioners” who could diagnose and treat the sick completely independent of a physician but with exacting standards and proven education behind them.
By the late 1800s the English apothecary made and sold medical ingredients, gave general medical advice and performed a wide range of medical related services. They were, and still are today, the equivalent of a pharmacist, herbalist, chemist, minor surgeon, midwife, and caregiver rolled into one.
Fascinating, isn’t it? Come back on the 18th for info on midwives and accoucheurs. Now, read on for some news from me.
Unfortunately only registered RWA conference attendees can be present at the speech C. Allyn and I are giving. However, if you live in the general Southern California area you can visit me at the ProLiteracy Autographing.
2012 “Readers for Life” Literacy Autographing
Wednesday, July 25, 5:00 – 8:00 p.m.
http://www.rwa.org/cs/literacy_autographing
If you live anywhere remotely close to Anaheim, or fancy a trip to Southern CA for a holiday, I encourage you to attend the Literacy Autographing. Not only to see me, but to support this marvelous charity and to meet just about every romance novelist writing today. Click the link to read more details, such as parking and maps, as well as to peruse the loonngg list of authors who will be signing. I will be sitting at table #702 with copies of my books and my gorgeous bookplates to sign for your copies at home.
In other BIG news for me, I am one of the four July Featured Authors at Discover a New Love. As part of this honor my debut novel – Mr. and Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy - is highlighted and available FREE to club members. Nice! This week is my week, with an interview posted and several fun blog posts. Best of all is the Party with Barbara Vey of Publishers Weekly happening on Wednesday, July 18 at 7:00 pm CST (5:00pm PST). This is an interactive, live “chat” style party. I will be there, virtually as it were, to answer questions and converse. Also, there are prizes!! For more information click the link below. Note the date and time, and please join me so I don’t feel lonely!
Discover a New Love Parties & Events
Today my post on 10 Reasons We Love Mr. Darcy is live. Be sure to pop in and comment. Let’s show the world – and Sourcebooks – that Jane Austen fans are alive and thriving!
On my June 25 blog post I held an “election” for casting the next Pride & Prejudice adaptation. If you missed it the post is HERE. Thanks to all who participated. It was fun and informative. I will probably revisit the topic at a later date, but for now, these are the final results:
Mr. Darcy – Henry Cavill won by a large margin at 37% of the 164 votes cast. Next was Dan Stevens at 27% and Ben Barnes at 16%. Poor Kit Harington, Harry Lloyd, and Tom Riley did not make it into the double digits so are out of the running.
Elizabeth Bennet – Jessica Brown Findlay won at 32% with Emma Watson sitting in second place with 23% of 152 votes cast. Claire Foy got 18%, Emilia Clarke 13%, Holliday Grainger 11%, and Tamzin Merchant only 4%.
There you have it. Can you see them as Darcy and Lizzy?
Sharon Lathan
Sharon Lathan is the author of The Darcy Saga sequel series to Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice. Her published novels include: Mr. and Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy, Loving Mr. Darcy, My Dearest Mr. Darcy, In the Arms of Mr. Darcy, The Trouble With Mr. Darcy, A Darcy Christmas, Miss Darcy Falls in Love, and The Passions of Dr. Darcy.
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Sounds like a fascinating talk, Shanon! Wish I could be there!
As for bloodletting, as someone who studied Chinese medicine, I just wanted to mention that Western physicians took the concept from the Chinese, but without any idea of how to use it. Bloodletting in Chinese medicine involves a tiny amount of blood (a couple of pin-head drops) taken from certain acupuncture points, depending on the diagnosis, and never when the patient is weak. Since this is sometimes used when patients have a fever to remove heat, Western physicians thought it was a cure-all for everything, and went the whole hog by removing whole bowl-fulls! There’s a very complex rationale behind using bloodletting in Traditional Chinese Medicine, involving a complex system of diagnosis very different from the Western, which makes the whole idea of wholesale bloodletting really absurd.
Takes cultural misunderstandings to a whole other level, doesn’t it?
Thanks for this, Monica. I admit I know next to nothing about Chinese medicine. I do know that when studying Indian medicine for The Passions of Dr. Darcy I learned how advanced their ancient medical and surgical treatments and philosophies were. Far ahead of their time and in many respects running alongside what we now know. Indian, Arabic, Persian, and Chinese medicine came from some of the same roots and wasn’t as barbaric as we might think. So much was lost over time between the Dark Ages and various wars. Sad, actually.
I know we complain about the healthcare we have today but I could not imagine some of the “treatments” that they had to endure in the Regency Era.
Very interesting post. I love historical nuggets. I think your voters came up with a good combination. Although I’m not familiar with Henry, I thought Jessica was great in Downton Abbey.
Love the post, Sharon! Sorry I can’t be there.
I did a lot of research on bloodletting for ‘Pulse and Prejudice.’ Many people believe that was actually what killed George Washington! (For the sequel, I’ve been researching blood transfusions.)
I read about the Washington possibility while researching this subject, Colette. I had never heard that before! Very frightening. He died of what was essentially a bad sore throat. Perhaps strep – who knows? – but the fact is he had a cold or virus causing his throat to tighten and the “treatment” was bloodletting among other remedies. When he only worsened – no wonder – the desperate physicians kept bleeding him. Probably poor medical judgment coupled with fear at treating the most important man in the US addled their brains! We will never know, but I can guarantee you that major exsanguination is not a good thing!
iwas tied for findlay and watson to be the part of elizabeth bennet With the way Watson acted as Hermione Granger and towards Ron I could easily see her as elizabeth refusing mr darcy’s proposal!
Very interesting post. I am a great fan of natural medicines.
Sharon, this was very interesting. I wish I was able to travel so I could listen in on your talk and learn more. No doubt you and Carey will give a fascinating account of the history of the medical field…and make us all excessively relieved to be living in the 21st century, rather than the 19th! Thank you – I hope you both have a wonderful time!
“By the late 1800s the English apothecary made and sold medical ingredients, gave general medical advice and performed a wide range of medical related services. They were, and still are today, the equivalent of a pharmacist, herbalist, chemist, minor surgeon, midwife, and caregiver rolled into one.”
There are still apothecaries practicing today? Thanks for including the link for the Physic Garden-I would love to go there one day!!
Indeed. From what I gathered the “general practitioner” in the UK is essentially an apothecary of old. Admittedly I did not carry my research much past the early 1900s since that is the basis of our workshop, and I am sure the system in the UK has undergone changes over the decades as everything else does, but their medical care system is different than in the US. So, yes, apothecaries are a big part of the whole and the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries is to this day a thriving aspect of it.
What a informative post
I had teh opportunity to see all the actors and actresses in at least one series, But I must say Cavill will be a good Darcy but Ben Barnes would bring a young,fresh .
for the actress in much hard to say, because I can imagine most of them portraying lizzy, Foy or Clarke
I already have your first novel than I received thanks to a giveaway my first one
it is really wonder fully written, I love your style ! keep on the good job
Concerning the Apothecary I roughly knew about their past, it is really amazing to see that with time, they gain not only a serious status aside of the Quacks, and they have much more knowledge of what they do. Here in France, they are barely few apothecaries in the Hexagone, people are very suspicous but these days people tend to go to the apothecary for herbals, they are not considerate officially reconized but might change. I just wanted to share this little piece of information since you have given a lot of information
Thank you Mariam, for everything! I am happy you are enjoying my novels. I will do my best to keep up the good job!
It is interesting how different countries varied as time went on. In the US I don’t think we even have “apothecaries.” I can’t think of ever seeing anyone called that. We have herbalists and pharmacists and chemists and general practitioners, but they are all different.
I agree that Ben Barnes is a good choice for Darcy. I think Cavill got lots of votes cause the pic I chose had him in a jacket and cravat! LOL! What is it about a cravat that drives us crazy?
some with a cravat can drive you crazy *_* It reminds me of Darcy 2005 ! but indeed clothes well wear have lots of influence upon our impression over a person man or woman.
I’m not so surprised somehow to learn that in the US “apothecaries” aren’t, I think most of the people who immigrate there in the early 17centuries would general practitioners , I remember in historical movies or dramas they mostly refers to doctors/surgeon. .indeed one job can be define differently depending countries.
It is pleasure to read your books, I must say, maybe a bit too lovey dovey for me, but the balance of action in”Mr darcy and Mrs darcy” was great
Thanks for the history lesson in medical profession, Sharon. It does sound interesting considering apothecary is not a distinguish profession in the olden days and made the leap to a recognised body of society with a reputation on par with physicians. Come to think of it, surgeons are look down upon because they are from trade and now they make more money than doctors. Same goes to attorneys/lawyers and businessman.
Good choices on Henry Cavill and Jessica Brown Findlay. I forgot who I voted for but I agree with it.
I meant that the mature scene is not something I am use to read, so I was embarrassed concerning that, But your write so well the feeling of the characters ! and I am very happy to see that Lizzy and Darcy have a happy ending with their lovely children !
your short stories in ” A darcy christmas” was also awesome, I liked the introduction of their family life . I didn’t have the opportunity earlier to let you know that so I do now.
I received both books from you and I realized how expensive the shipping was to France ! and even you sent it , so thank you very much .
I forgot who I voted for also. I think it was Henry Cavill but forgot which woman. The bloodletting is revolting to me. Funny all they had to do was read the bible and tho’ it’s not a medical book it does deal with appropriate blood use and misuse as well as washing and quarantine. Could have saved a lot of lives. funny! I like learning about the differences between apothecaries and other medical professionals. Several other authors have used the apothecary in their novels and it makes for great reading. Even the old novel “Wives and Daughters” has a brief bit about the difference in medical pros. “The apothecaries daughter” by Julie Klassen is also a good book. I’m sure you all have to put so much research into your work. We appreciate it.
I hate that I won’t be at RWA this year. I would love to be a part of your audience.