Medical Muses: Hysteria in Nineteenth-Century Paris
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Review
Fascinating and beautifully written Guardian Fascinating ... gives us a disturbing insight into the extent to which doctors, patients and diseases, both then and now, are products of their time Daisy Goodwin, Sunday Times Thoughtful and engrossing Miranda Seymour, Daily Telegraph The thoroughly researched, very readable material brings to life their strange and remarkable stories, told in meticulous detail, as well as the brilliance and brutality of the great physician Independent Consistently enthralling Kathryn Harrison, New York Times
--This text refers to the
Paperback
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'This is a riveting study of the great iconic stars of the Salpetriere, as famous in the belle epoque for their hysteria as celebrities today are for their excesses. Asti Hustvedt probes the records to bring to life the stories of Blanche, Augustine and Genevieve as well as their brilliant doctor, Jean Martin Charcot. In the process, she gives their historic diagnosis new contemporary meaning' Lisa Appignanesi 'Medical Muses rescues from neglect the fascinating lives of these celebrity sufferers who became the face of Hysteria. With rich historical detail, Asti Hustvedt lucidly recreates the lost world of these women, who spoke in a language of sudden paralyses, twitching dances, and robotic actions, and for a while, had all of Europe listening' George Makari, author of Revolution in Mind: the Creation of Psychoanalysis.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition
This is a history book, looking at a clinic and doctor in Paris over 100 years ago. The other reviews refer to a short comment in an epilogue suggested by the publisher - this is not, nor is it intended to be, a book about specific illnesses.
Again, it's a history book - fascinating and well-written.
Again, it's a history book - fascinating and well-written.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I very rarely write reviews on Amazon, but having seen the misleading and rather reactionary comments that have been made by other reviewers, I felt I had to set things straight.
My husband has been an M.E. sufferer for over ten years, so I am no stranger to the frustrations others are referring to. However, it is totally ludicrous to review an entire book based on a few passing references in the first pages, particularly if you haven't read the rest of the book. I strongly suspect that this is the case for most of these reviewers here. Please don't let the other reviews blind you to a fantastic piece of writing on a very compelling topic. This book isn't even about M.E.
Hustvedt offers the most colourful, delightful and compelling account of the stories surrounding three women diagnosed with hysteria in late 19th century Paris, women who because of their diagnosis became world famous. Equally fascinating is the account of the hospital where these women lived, their dealings with the doctors and photographers who dealt with them on a daily basis, and the incredible Professor Charcot. Seriously, don't miss out on delving into this incredible history. The final chapter contextualises this history and discusses why it is relevant today. Absolutely fascinating.
I began reading this book yesterday and found it utterly gripping. I read it for three hours straight while my son was at his childminder, had to put it down reluctantly when the time was up, but still thought about it all day. The writing is fabulous, very very accessible, entertaining, concise, thought provoking. I was particularly drawn into the account of Charcot, (I keep imagining him sharing his dinner table with a monkey!) and found myself wondering if he had ever entertained or been entertained by other contemporary prominent Parisians I have studied. I couldn't help but wonder what he would have made of them.
This is the best non-fiction I've read in absolutely ages. My copy is on loan from the British Library, but I love it so much I came on here today to buy myself a copy to keep.
My husband has been an M.E. sufferer for over ten years, so I am no stranger to the frustrations others are referring to. However, it is totally ludicrous to review an entire book based on a few passing references in the first pages, particularly if you haven't read the rest of the book. I strongly suspect that this is the case for most of these reviewers here. Please don't let the other reviews blind you to a fantastic piece of writing on a very compelling topic. This book isn't even about M.E.
Hustvedt offers the most colourful, delightful and compelling account of the stories surrounding three women diagnosed with hysteria in late 19th century Paris, women who because of their diagnosis became world famous. Equally fascinating is the account of the hospital where these women lived, their dealings with the doctors and photographers who dealt with them on a daily basis, and the incredible Professor Charcot. Seriously, don't miss out on delving into this incredible history. The final chapter contextualises this history and discusses why it is relevant today. Absolutely fascinating.
I began reading this book yesterday and found it utterly gripping. I read it for three hours straight while my son was at his childminder, had to put it down reluctantly when the time was up, but still thought about it all day. The writing is fabulous, very very accessible, entertaining, concise, thought provoking. I was particularly drawn into the account of Charcot, (I keep imagining him sharing his dinner table with a monkey!) and found myself wondering if he had ever entertained or been entertained by other contemporary prominent Parisians I have studied. I couldn't help but wonder what he would have made of them.
This is the best non-fiction I've read in absolutely ages. My copy is on loan from the British Library, but I love it so much I came on here today to buy myself a copy to keep.
9 of 26 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Deja Vu.
Elaine Showalter, a prof. of literature and self-described feminist, wrote the same nonsense in the 1980s in Hystories. It's even more disgusting, anti-women, anti-disabled and anti-science that Asti Hustvedt a literature scholar who seems to think of herself as a feminist writes the same misrepresentations in 2011.
Hustvedt claims that ME/CFIDS (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/ Chronic Fatigue Immune Dysfunction Syndrome) is mere hysteria (see quote from book below). According to Anthony Komoroff, professor of infectious disease at Harvard Med School, there are "over 5,000 articles" in peer reviewed medical journals show significant biological pathology (disease) in ME.
Her position, laid out in the first chapter and epilogue, is that "CFS" is not caused by biology, but instead is psychogenic; it is hysteria. She says that Charcot was a neurologist and that he felt there was an organic origin to hysteria. But she notes that every autopsy he did of hysterics showed no pathology in the brain or spinal cord. She also claims no biological abnormalities in "CFS" and implies that Charcot's belief that hysteria was somatogenic was wrong- that hysteria, including "CFS", is in fact psychological. Like Wessely, he claims that the reason we claim biological origin is that we don't want to be revealed to be head cases and assigned to the psych ward.
As I have written about Showalter "An Literature scholar applying literary criticism to medical disease is, of course, ridiculous. I'm scratching my head over why she would just write down what came to mind about a disease she doesn't bother to research and then publish it. And why anyone would bother to read it. Bizarre."
For the true story of ME, get the absolutely amazing Osler's Web: Inside the Labyrinth of the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Epidemic.
From the first chapter: "There is, however, a crop of bizarre new illnesses that, like hysteria, afflict mostly young women and stubbornly resist biological explanation. No drug exists to cure anorexia, bulimia, self-mutilation, chronic fatigue syndrome, and multiple personality disorder, and no genetic flaw has been found to explain them. Furthermore, as was true for hysteria, these contemporary disorders are thought to be contagious, spread by suggestion, imitation, and therapy...
The cultural and historical homologies between hysteria and these present-day diseases are so detailed and undeniable that it would be accurate to categorize them all as incarnations of hysteria."
Elaine Showalter, a prof. of literature and self-described feminist, wrote the same nonsense in the 1980s in Hystories. It's even more disgusting, anti-women, anti-disabled and anti-science that Asti Hustvedt a literature scholar who seems to think of herself as a feminist writes the same misrepresentations in 2011.
Hustvedt claims that ME/CFIDS (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/ Chronic Fatigue Immune Dysfunction Syndrome) is mere hysteria (see quote from book below). According to Anthony Komoroff, professor of infectious disease at Harvard Med School, there are "over 5,000 articles" in peer reviewed medical journals show significant biological pathology (disease) in ME.
Her position, laid out in the first chapter and epilogue, is that "CFS" is not caused by biology, but instead is psychogenic; it is hysteria. She says that Charcot was a neurologist and that he felt there was an organic origin to hysteria. But she notes that every autopsy he did of hysterics showed no pathology in the brain or spinal cord. She also claims no biological abnormalities in "CFS" and implies that Charcot's belief that hysteria was somatogenic was wrong- that hysteria, including "CFS", is in fact psychological. Like Wessely, he claims that the reason we claim biological origin is that we don't want to be revealed to be head cases and assigned to the psych ward.
As I have written about Showalter "An Literature scholar applying literary criticism to medical disease is, of course, ridiculous. I'm scratching my head over why she would just write down what came to mind about a disease she doesn't bother to research and then publish it. And why anyone would bother to read it. Bizarre."
For the true story of ME, get the absolutely amazing Osler's Web: Inside the Labyrinth of the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Epidemic.
From the first chapter: "There is, however, a crop of bizarre new illnesses that, like hysteria, afflict mostly young women and stubbornly resist biological explanation. No drug exists to cure anorexia, bulimia, self-mutilation, chronic fatigue syndrome, and multiple personality disorder, and no genetic flaw has been found to explain them. Furthermore, as was true for hysteria, these contemporary disorders are thought to be contagious, spread by suggestion, imitation, and therapy...
The cultural and historical homologies between hysteria and these present-day diseases are so detailed and undeniable that it would be accurate to categorize them all as incarnations of hysteria."
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Another ignorant idiot propogating outdated ideas and reinforcing...
If the author thinks that ME/CFS is an example of hysteria then she goes against a huge and growing amount of evidence to suggest a real biological basis for the condition and she... Read more
Published 10 months ago by antonius
An outdated and disproved theory of 'medicine'
Hustvedt really should keep up to date on research into the illnesses she discusses with seeming authority. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Bluebottle83
Phoney tears for a false construct
"The sufferers of chronic fatigue syndrome are not misguided in their insistence that a virus, or a chemical, or something concrete either in their bodies or the environment is... Read more
Published 12 months ago by Alice Browne
One More Useful Idiot
"...I'm not a chronic fatigue doctor, but I have learned a lot about chronic fatigue in the last six months and have spoken to a lot of patients. Read more
Published 12 months ago by akrasia
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