ISBN: HB: 9780300196344
August 2019
376 pp.
23,5x15,6 cm
50 colour illus., 4 maps
HB:
£35.00
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Florence Under Siege
Surviving Plague in an Early Modern City
Plague remains the paradigm against which reactions to many epidemics are often judged. Here, John Henderson examines how a major city fought, suffered, and survived the impact of plague. Going beyond traditional oppositions between rich and poor, this book provides a nuanced and more compassionate interpretation of government policies in practice, by recreating the very human reactions and survival strategies of families and individuals.
From the evocation of the overcrowded conditions in isolation hospitals to the splendor of religious processions, Henderson analyzes Florentine reactions within a wider European context to assess the effect of state policies on the city, street, and family. Writing in a vivid and approachable way, this book unearths the forgotten stories of doctors and administrators struggling to cope with the sick and dying, and of those who were left bereft and confused by the sudden loss of relatives.
From the evocation of the overcrowded conditions in isolation hospitals to the splendor of religious processions, Henderson analyzes Florentine reactions within a wider European context to assess the effect of state policies on the city, street, and family. Writing in a vivid and approachable way, this book unearths the forgotten stories of doctors and administrators struggling to cope with the sick and dying, and of those who were left bereft and confused by the sudden loss of relatives.
About the author
John Henderson is Wellcome Reader in Renaissance Medicine, School of History, Classics and Archaeology at Birkbeck College, University of London, and fellow of Wolfson College, Cambridge. Among his previous books is "The Great Pox: The French Disease in Renaissance Europe", co-edited with J. Arizabalaga and R. French and published by Yale University Press.