Pre-Owned Shakespeare's Tremor and Orwell's Cough: The Medical Lives of Famous Writers (Hardcover) 0312600763 9780312600761

The Bard meets "House "in this illumination of the medical mysteries surrounding ten of the English language's most heralded writers

Were Shakespeare's shaky handwriting, his obsession with venereal disease, and his premature retirement connected? Did John Milton go blind from his propaganda work for Oliver Cromwell, or did he have a rare and devastating complication of a very common eye problem? Did Jonathan Swift's preoccupation with sex and filth result from a neurological condition that might also explain his late-life surge in creativity? Were Herman Melville's disabling attacks of eye and back pain the product of "nervous affections," or did he actually have a malady that was unknown to medical science until well after his death? Was Jack London a suicide, or was his death the product of a series of self-induced medical misadventures? Did James Joyce need several horrific eye operations because of a strange autoimmune disease acquired from a Dublin streetwalker?

These questions and many more are answered in this fascinating untold story of the impact of disease on the lives and works of some the finest writers in the English language, as Ross cheerfully debunks old biographical myths, and suggests fresh diagnoses for these writers' real-life medical mysteries. CONDITION – USED: Books sold are in GOOD or better condition. Good Condition: Minimal damage to the cover, dust jacket may not be included, minimal wear to binding, most of the pages undamaged(e.g., minimal creases or tears), highlighting / underlining acceptable on books as long as the text is readable and markings are not excessive, no missing pages. May be a former library book, with usual treatments(e.g., mylar covers, call stickers, stamps, card pockets, barcodes, or remainder marks). Extra components, such as CDs, DVDs, figurines, or access codes are not included. ISBN: 9780312600761 ISBN10: 0312600763 Contributors: Ross, John J.,