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The Sweating Sickness Epidemic: Henry VIII's Great Fear
Among the array of diseases which brought death to Tudor England, the sweating sickness stood out, for the speed with which it struck, its dreadful effects on its victims and the death rates which it produced, that together generated a fear verging on panic when it was identified. The sweating sickness attacked the cities, towns and the countryside, not sparing the palaces. It threatened everyone, from the king in his castle to the beggars at his gates, including members of the dynasty and the political structure, the courtiers and those who directed the government, the church and the law. Contemporaries could do little more than make a bolt for it, and that included the king and his closest advisors, who moved furtively in a small group from one house to another away from London. The principal epidemics came between 1485, when it made its first appearance, and 1551, and it was confined to England and Wales, apart from one major eruption across northern Europe in 1529. Known as the English disease, this rapidly acting virus became Henry VIII’s overriding fear, aggravating his well-known hypochondria and controlling his movements.
The nature of the sweating sickness, its incidence and impact are all examined in this book, in the context not only of Tudor England and the problems of the Henrician succession, but also in the context of epidemic disease in Europe more widely. This book teases out the similarities and differences between ‘the sweat’ and its better-known, if equally feared, contemporary infectious disease, bubonic plague.
The nature of the sweating sickness, its incidence and impact are all examined in this book, in the context not only of Tudor England and the problems of the Henrician succession, but also in the context of epidemic disease in Europe more widely. This book teases out the similarities and differences between ‘the sweat’ and its better-known, if equally feared, contemporary infectious disease, bubonic plague.
160 pages, Hardcover
Published June 30, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
May 5, 2023
It needs to be said up front that this book was partially written by the late Stephen Porter and had to be finished by a friend for publication. As such, the book is not incredibly long and does not have the depth of Porter's others works (which are quite good). That said, I've seen other posthumous books which were clearly money grabs and this is not one of those. The book still stands on its own and I think an admirable job was done to complete it.
The book focuses on the sweating sickness which afflicted England particularly during the reign of Henry VIII. Historically, it is a mysterious disease which was never fully identified and studied like the plague is. If you want a quick book which explains the culture and facts that are known around the sweating sickness, then this will provide you with a lot of great information. While the circumstances of the finished work means it feels disjointed at times, it still delivers.
(This book was provided as an advance copy by Netgalley and Pen & Sword Books.)
The book focuses on the sweating sickness which afflicted England particularly during the reign of Henry VIII. Historically, it is a mysterious disease which was never fully identified and studied like the plague is. If you want a quick book which explains the culture and facts that are known around the sweating sickness, then this will provide you with a lot of great information. While the circumstances of the finished work means it feels disjointed at times, it still delivers.
(This book was provided as an advance copy by Netgalley and Pen & Sword Books.)
Shelved as '2023'
June 14, 2024📱 Thank you to NetGalley and Pen & Sword History
May 13, 2023
When king Henry VIII became the ruler of his kingdom his biggest fright beside someone taking over his kingship was the sweating sickness a disease that came and killed quickly The disease was blamed on the immigrants the poor the dirty ET see and although they really had no cure for it that didn’t stop many notable people from coming out and giving advice. From not drinking water until the disease has passed to not changing your clothes keeping warming stones in your bed to sweat it out and on and on because some did survive the disease but most however did not they even came up with a system to let neighbors know if your house was affected by the sweating sickness and it was so tied to England it was even known as the English disease that didn’t mean only England suffered from it just thought the main sufferers were in England. Not unlike modern day diseases it’s victims were the young in the very old and although they never quite knew exactly what disease this was it’s still makes for a very interesting story in time in England the middle ages has always been my favorite era in history and although I knew about the sweating sickness I never knew or read anything in such great detail as in this book. The sweating sickness epidemic by Dr. Stephen Porter is detailed interesting and reads like historical drama I loved it and highly recommend it if you love the history of England the middle ages then you’ll love this book I certainly did and highly recommend it. I received this book from NetGalley and Pen and Sword History but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.
March 27, 2023
The Sweating Sickness Epidemic is a book about the sweat, written by Dr. Stephen Porter and published, alas, posthumously. It focuses on the mysterious illness that plagued England--almost solely England--arriving in short bursts and sweeping through both rural and city areas, killing people so quickly that there was never really any time to prepare or guard against it. I find the topic fascinating because we don't know where it started, we don't know why it came into formation, we don't know exactly what it was, and we don't know why (excluding one incident on the continent) it kept essentially just to England.
The book is clearly comprised of exhaustive research, and I enjoyed the data compiled of the various death tolls from the cities and towns as well as the first-hand accounts of those who either watched the sweat roll through their area or combatted it themselves. With the current climate as it is in dealing with the rise of multiple pandemics, reading this book now certainly hits harder than I imagine it would if the book had been published in, say, 2015. I also enjoyed the juxtaposition of the number of deaths against the victims of the plague as well as the rapidity with which it claimed lives.
Really, just a fascinating book on such a mysterious topic.
I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The book is clearly comprised of exhaustive research, and I enjoyed the data compiled of the various death tolls from the cities and towns as well as the first-hand accounts of those who either watched the sweat roll through their area or combatted it themselves. With the current climate as it is in dealing with the rise of multiple pandemics, reading this book now certainly hits harder than I imagine it would if the book had been published in, say, 2015. I also enjoyed the juxtaposition of the number of deaths against the victims of the plague as well as the rapidity with which it claimed lives.
Really, just a fascinating book on such a mysterious topic.
I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
April 10, 2023
Thank you netgalley and Pen & Sword for the eARC to review.
I went into this book with zero knowledge about what the Sweating Sickness was. All I knew was that it was a contemporary to the Tudor plagues. Unfortunately, I came out of reading this book with not much more knowledge on the Sweating Sickness than going into it.
There was little medical information on what the Sweating Sickness is or any type of contemporary medical study on it. Half of the book actually discussed the plague mixed in with discussions of the Sweating Sickness so it felt very jumbled and confusing to tell which illness was being talked about in certain passages. I've recently been studying Tudor succession history and if I didn't already have that under my belt, I would have been absolutely lost for the history sections.
If this book doesn't do a great job detailing either the scientific/medical information or give the reader a solid understanding of the Tudor dynasty & how the Sweating Sickness affected it (as promised by the title), then I don't see this as a successful non-fiction.
I went into this book with zero knowledge about what the Sweating Sickness was. All I knew was that it was a contemporary to the Tudor plagues. Unfortunately, I came out of reading this book with not much more knowledge on the Sweating Sickness than going into it.
There was little medical information on what the Sweating Sickness is or any type of contemporary medical study on it. Half of the book actually discussed the plague mixed in with discussions of the Sweating Sickness so it felt very jumbled and confusing to tell which illness was being talked about in certain passages. I've recently been studying Tudor succession history and if I didn't already have that under my belt, I would have been absolutely lost for the history sections.
If this book doesn't do a great job detailing either the scientific/medical information or give the reader a solid understanding of the Tudor dynasty & how the Sweating Sickness affected it (as promised by the title), then I don't see this as a successful non-fiction.
Read
June 28, 2023Sweating Sickness only gets limited mention in history of medicine books, so this book provided mostly fascinating content. The book is almost all history with little science, a necessity because so little is actually known about the sweating sickness medically. But sometimes there was just too much detail and I found the writing uninspiring. Even when I read nonfiction, I like to feel that I got to know a little bit about the writer but this didn’t happen in this book. The too-many quotes were disruptive to reading. However the unique content makes this book well worth reading. Thank you to Netgalley and Pen & Sword History for the digital review copy.
May 28, 2023
I received an ARC of “The Sweating Sickness Epidemic: Henry VIII’s Great Fear” by Stephen Porter from NetGalley and Pen & Sword Books Ltd. in exchange for an honest review.
The author died prior to the book’s publication, so readers have Porter’s wife to thank for ensuring that this book was published.
This succinct book is arranged into 8 chapters and includes 2 appendixes: Appendix 1: The Household Orders of 1539 and Appendix 2: The Sweating Sickness in Holinshed’s Chronicles. Along with notes arranged by chapter, an excellent bibliography was included.
Called the Sweating Sickness, the English Disease, the English King’s Disease, and the English Sweat, among other names, this now non-existent disease has baffled scientists, and particularly those interested in mortality, for centuries. The disease first appeared in 1485, and the last infection in the UK was recorded in 1551, though the author acknowledged that the disease could have lingered as late as the early 1580s.
Death by the Sweating Sickness usually occurred in under 24 hours, and sometimes in just a few hours. The author took great pains to explain this sudden onset disease. What I really admire about Porter is the fact that he can easily explain things for lay people to understand. For example, on pages 15-16, he clearly explained how another disease, Yersinia pestis, multiplied so quickly because the fleas, who were unable to eat despite their starvation, continued to try to feed and became ravenous.
Even though scientists still have not been able to identify the origins of the Sweating Sickness, Porter’s account reveals how this disease changed the course of British history, particularly during the Tudor era.
What I thought was really fascinating was how Porter revealed that the Sweating Sickness was primarily a disease that infected the UK. Although he acknowledged that the disease appeared in Northern and Central Europe circa 1529, it was in Great Britain were it appeared numerous times during the sixteenth century.
As I read this book, I found myself continuously looking back at our own COVID-19 Pandemic. The way that the Tudor government reacted was really not so different from how modern governments reacted, with a few small caveats. For example, houses with infected individuals first used whisps of straw on their doors to warn others of an infection, and later began attaching T crosses to the doors. The Tudors understood that household under quarantine needed provisions, so Porter revealed that those members could leave the house to shop, but were required to carry a long, white stick so that other members of the community could give the shopper a wide berth.
Porter really made our recent pandemic resonate with me when he revealed that the Tudor government instituted weekly taxes in order to help financially support the households of infected victims.
Although citations were included in the book, there were instances when the author quoted other people and/or works but did not include citations. However, I believe that this may have been due to the author’s death. Regardless, this book is extremely important not just for understanding the history of the United Kingdom, but mortality and the history of disease around the world. This is the reason why I recommend that libraries—both university libraries and general public libraries—purchase this book. Although written by an academic, this book can be easily read and understood by everyone.
The author died prior to the book’s publication, so readers have Porter’s wife to thank for ensuring that this book was published.
This succinct book is arranged into 8 chapters and includes 2 appendixes: Appendix 1: The Household Orders of 1539 and Appendix 2: The Sweating Sickness in Holinshed’s Chronicles. Along with notes arranged by chapter, an excellent bibliography was included.
Called the Sweating Sickness, the English Disease, the English King’s Disease, and the English Sweat, among other names, this now non-existent disease has baffled scientists, and particularly those interested in mortality, for centuries. The disease first appeared in 1485, and the last infection in the UK was recorded in 1551, though the author acknowledged that the disease could have lingered as late as the early 1580s.
Death by the Sweating Sickness usually occurred in under 24 hours, and sometimes in just a few hours. The author took great pains to explain this sudden onset disease. What I really admire about Porter is the fact that he can easily explain things for lay people to understand. For example, on pages 15-16, he clearly explained how another disease, Yersinia pestis, multiplied so quickly because the fleas, who were unable to eat despite their starvation, continued to try to feed and became ravenous.
Even though scientists still have not been able to identify the origins of the Sweating Sickness, Porter’s account reveals how this disease changed the course of British history, particularly during the Tudor era.
What I thought was really fascinating was how Porter revealed that the Sweating Sickness was primarily a disease that infected the UK. Although he acknowledged that the disease appeared in Northern and Central Europe circa 1529, it was in Great Britain were it appeared numerous times during the sixteenth century.
As I read this book, I found myself continuously looking back at our own COVID-19 Pandemic. The way that the Tudor government reacted was really not so different from how modern governments reacted, with a few small caveats. For example, houses with infected individuals first used whisps of straw on their doors to warn others of an infection, and later began attaching T crosses to the doors. The Tudors understood that household under quarantine needed provisions, so Porter revealed that those members could leave the house to shop, but were required to carry a long, white stick so that other members of the community could give the shopper a wide berth.
Porter really made our recent pandemic resonate with me when he revealed that the Tudor government instituted weekly taxes in order to help financially support the households of infected victims.
Although citations were included in the book, there were instances when the author quoted other people and/or works but did not include citations. However, I believe that this may have been due to the author’s death. Regardless, this book is extremely important not just for understanding the history of the United Kingdom, but mortality and the history of disease around the world. This is the reason why I recommend that libraries—both university libraries and general public libraries—purchase this book. Although written by an academic, this book can be easily read and understood by everyone.
April 3, 2023
The Sweating Sickness Epidemic by Stephen Porter is about two things that I’m always up for, Tudor history and (this is really weird I know) epidemics and pandemics. Whether you are reading nonfiction or historical fiction regarding the Tudors illness and how the court would be on the move will inevitably come up but it’s always just in the general background. This book puts the topic front and center covering the timeline of the sweating sickness and how while it dovetailed around the same times as the plague. How it was quite different from the plague and it was the speed of the illness that was absolutely terrifying. We read accounts about the measures that were taken, the remedies people tried and the countless people it affected in all levels of society.
The theories about what exactly the illness was and what caused it towards the end of the book were super interesting. Also one of the things I really loved was in the appendix where it includes the household orders for the management of Prince Edward the sixth’s household. It’s so interesting to read, things like who was allowed to kiss his hand and all the protocol to prevent infection, I was absolutely nerding out reading it and really happy it was included. The book is incredibly well researched but one thing I wished was included was more focus on the women of the time. All in all a really interesting read for fans of Tudor history.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
The theories about what exactly the illness was and what caused it towards the end of the book were super interesting. Also one of the things I really loved was in the appendix where it includes the household orders for the management of Prince Edward the sixth’s household. It’s so interesting to read, things like who was allowed to kiss his hand and all the protocol to prevent infection, I was absolutely nerding out reading it and really happy it was included. The book is incredibly well researched but one thing I wished was included was more focus on the women of the time. All in all a really interesting read for fans of Tudor history.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
January 25, 2024
The Sweating Sickness, written by Stephen Porter argues that this mystery illness had a significant impact on King Henry VIII and his anxiety about secession and a male heir. The sweating sickness, also known as the English disease, is an unidentified illness that killed nearly a forth of London's population in 1485, and continued to ravaged England through the first half of the sixteenth century. The illness did not expand much beyond England, with a few potential chases in Ireland and some speculate a few may have reached northern Europe. Porter's examination of the event is thorough and concise. I found his argument that the sickness had a significant impact on King Henry VIII and his concerns around secession compelling, but think they would be better situated as part of a larger discussion around the political and religious events of the time as well as the King's ideas of masculinity. Porter's writing style makes this book very accessible - would be a easy read for history undergraduate students.
Thank you NetGalley for the digital advanced reader copy of this book.
Thank you NetGalley for the digital advanced reader copy of this book.
March 7, 2024
The Sweating Sickness Epidemic: Henry VIII's Great Fear chronicles the outbreaks of the sweating sickness from its first reported incident in 1485 under Henry VII to its last great outbreak in 1551 under Edward VI and beyond. In the process, it deals with the medical and cultural response to the disease, the measures which were put in the place to contain it and the fear it engendered in the population. The book is informatively written and intuitively structured, starting with an introduction to the disease and its symptoms and then progressing chronologically from the first to the last outbreak, but the book is somewhat marred by a lack of desire to discuss or theorise in the face of missing historical information. Oftentimes, the author will simply note that something is uncertain (how many died, what the disease was, how it came to England, how it was transmitted, etc.) without spending that much time on further discussion. There's a bit of it at the very end of the book, but then it's just a few pages. Overall, though, I found this to be an interesting and enjoyable read.
July 5, 2023
This was an interesting account of the sweating sickness, something that stuck around for decades, off and on, and the likes of which we have no exact match for in our current array of illnesses.
I can understand why Henry VIII might be a little bit paranoid about catching it, when you hear how rapidly those affected succumbed to it. I find it fascinating that even though England wasn't all that far away from continental Europe, it remained mostly sweating sickness free (although, it had plenty of plague, so there was that).
When you read accounts of the various diseases that afflicted our ancestors, it is a wonder any of them survived for long enough to ensure that those of us living now, made it into the world!
4.5 stars from me.
And a special shout out to Mrs Porter, who completed this book after her husband's passing. My sincerest condolences to you.
Thank you to NetGalley and Pen & Sword.
I can understand why Henry VIII might be a little bit paranoid about catching it, when you hear how rapidly those affected succumbed to it. I find it fascinating that even though England wasn't all that far away from continental Europe, it remained mostly sweating sickness free (although, it had plenty of plague, so there was that).
When you read accounts of the various diseases that afflicted our ancestors, it is a wonder any of them survived for long enough to ensure that those of us living now, made it into the world!
4.5 stars from me.
And a special shout out to Mrs Porter, who completed this book after her husband's passing. My sincerest condolences to you.
Thank you to NetGalley and Pen & Sword.
July 31, 2023
The Sweating Sickness Epidemic is nonfiction about the mysterious disease that was the horror of the Tudor court. I really enjoy books that intersect disease, history, and culture and didn't know much about the actual sickness outside of historical references, so I thought it would be interesting to learn more about the disease.
Turns out, we don't know a lot about it! This book compared and contrasted several different plagues throughout the time period and how they differed in symptoms, length, spread, and impact. I figured that we would know much more about the sweating sickness with modern medicine, but it turns out that since it happened so long ago and hasn't really appeared in modern times, we really don't. Much of the book talks about how one mysterious plague might be the sweating sickness or it might have been one of the other mysterious plagues that we also don't know a lot about. I was reminded that this disease was present over 500 years ago and we are going off of writings from people who thought that disease was caused by bad air. The result is not a ton of concrete evidence about the actual sickness.
Overall, I found parts of this book interesting but had a hard time getting through it. Since we don't know a lot about the sickness, there isn't a lot of specific things to say about the sickness. If you're super interested in disease and the time period, I'd give this book a try! 2.5 stars rounded up to 3 from me. Thank you to Pen & Sword and NetGalley for the electronic advanced reader's copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!
Turns out, we don't know a lot about it! This book compared and contrasted several different plagues throughout the time period and how they differed in symptoms, length, spread, and impact. I figured that we would know much more about the sweating sickness with modern medicine, but it turns out that since it happened so long ago and hasn't really appeared in modern times, we really don't. Much of the book talks about how one mysterious plague might be the sweating sickness or it might have been one of the other mysterious plagues that we also don't know a lot about. I was reminded that this disease was present over 500 years ago and we are going off of writings from people who thought that disease was caused by bad air. The result is not a ton of concrete evidence about the actual sickness.
Overall, I found parts of this book interesting but had a hard time getting through it. Since we don't know a lot about the sickness, there isn't a lot of specific things to say about the sickness. If you're super interested in disease and the time period, I'd give this book a try! 2.5 stars rounded up to 3 from me. Thank you to Pen & Sword and NetGalley for the electronic advanced reader's copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!
March 30, 2023
‘The swearing sickness stood out as truly terrifying. The speed with which it struck, its dreadful effects on its victims and the death rates that it produced, together generated a fear verging on panic when it was identified.’
The perfect book to read if you like learning about disease, Tudor England and history.
My only issue was that the story just didn’t grab my full attention.
‘ A letter sent from London on 1 August mentioned that a disease is broke out here, causing death within six hours. They call it the swearing disease.’
How frightening!!!!!
The perfect book to read if you like learning about disease, Tudor England and history.
My only issue was that the story just didn’t grab my full attention.
‘ A letter sent from London on 1 August mentioned that a disease is broke out here, causing death within six hours. They call it the swearing disease.’
How frightening!!!!!
May 31, 2023
This book made me discovery a piece of medical history and it was both informative and fascinating.
I read some articles on science site and discovered that the causes are still unknown.
I liked the style of writing and how this illness
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine impacted the people in XVI century.
I read some articles on science site and discovered that the causes are still unknown.
I liked the style of writing and how this illness
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine impacted the people in XVI century.
May 15, 2023
Interesting but dense at times. Learnt somethings but seemed to talk about the plague more than anything.
April 16, 2023
Thank you Netgalley for an advanced copy!
Dr Stephen Porter examines the reign of the Tudors through the lens of the unique and mysterious Sweating Sickness, a disease still not fully understood even today, and a terror to the people of Tudor England.
Dr. Porter examines when it started and its subsequent outbreaks, digging up and quoting from the many primary sources of people breathlessly reporting to each other the death tolls and offering up all sorts of possible sources and cures. There isn't much on the science of the disease, but that would be, understandably, just guess work. Porter instead focuses on the social, political, economic, etc. consequences of the disease - showing how there were dramatic shifts in history when high ranking people died of the diseases, how the disease effected public policy, architecture, medical studies, religion, and more.
A fascinating and all too timely look at how a disease can affect all of society.
Dr Stephen Porter examines the reign of the Tudors through the lens of the unique and mysterious Sweating Sickness, a disease still not fully understood even today, and a terror to the people of Tudor England.
Dr. Porter examines when it started and its subsequent outbreaks, digging up and quoting from the many primary sources of people breathlessly reporting to each other the death tolls and offering up all sorts of possible sources and cures. There isn't much on the science of the disease, but that would be, understandably, just guess work. Porter instead focuses on the social, political, economic, etc. consequences of the disease - showing how there were dramatic shifts in history when high ranking people died of the diseases, how the disease effected public policy, architecture, medical studies, religion, and more.
A fascinating and all too timely look at how a disease can affect all of society.
July 15, 2024
Fantastic read. You can find my full review here: https://allthebookblognamesaretaken.b...
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