| Portion of title |
How Catherine the Great defied a deadly virus |
| Contents |
Preface: The silver lancet -- Introduction: The speckled monster -- The Doctor -- The deadly lottery -- The Empress -- The invitation -- The preparations -- The inoculations -- The new fashion -- The impact -- The celebrity -- The last meeting -- Epilogue: The legacy. |
| Abstract |
"A killer virus ... an all-powerful Empress ... an encounter cloaked in secrecy. Within living memory, smallpox was a dreaded disease. Over human history it has killed untold millions. Back in the eighteenth century, as epidemics swept Europe, the first rumours emerged of an effective treatment: a mysterious method called inoculation. But a key problem remained: convincing people to accept the preventative remedy, the forerunner of vaccination. Arguments raged over risks and benefits, and public resistance ran high. As smallpox ravaged her empire and threatened her court, Catherine the Great took the momentous decision to summon the Quaker physician Tomas Dimsdale to St Petersburg to carry out a secret mission that would transform both their lives. Lucy Ward expertly unveils the extraordinary story of Enlightenment ideals, female leadership and the fight to promote science over superstition"--Dust jacket flap. |
| Bibliography note | Includes bibliographical references (pages 291-324) and index. |
| Issued in other form | ebook version : 9780861542468 |
| Genre/form | History. |
| Genre/form | Biographies. |
| ISBN | 9780861542451 |
| ISBN | 0861542452 (hardcover) |
