Synopses & Reviews
The Speckled Monster tells the dramatic story of two parents who dared to fight back against smallpox. After barely surviving the agony of smallpox themselves, they flouted eighteenth-century medicine by borrowing folk knowledge from African slaves and Eastern women in frantic bids to protect their children. From their heroic struggles stems the modern science of immunology as well as the vaccinations that remain our only hope should the disease ever be unleashed again.
Jennifer Lee Carrell transports readers back to the early eighteenth century to tell the tales of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu and Dr. Zabdiel Boylston, two iconoclastic figures who helped save London and Boston from the deadliest disease mankind has known.
Review
"[I]ntriguing....Carrell's novelistic treatment of this story...is engaging in spite of an overabundance of fabricated conversations and scenes that slow the action." Publishers Weekly
Review
"An overlong but informative tale....Carrell inclines toward a too-inclusive use of historical material, resulting in a narrative that runs on far too long....Still, there is much good information here....For those who take their medicine with an air of mayhem." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"The Speckled Monster's lighter style and lack of an index will reduce its value for academic libraries, but its informative and entertaining format makes it a fascinating read for the general public." Library Journal
Synopsis
A timely book about history's first desperate efforts to conquer the spotted beast of smallpox. The Speckled Monster tells the dramatic story both historical and timely of two parents who dared to fight back against the disease.
Synopsis
Includes bibliographical references (p. [465]-474).
About the Author
Jennifer Lee Carrell holds a Ph.D. in English and American literature from Harvard University and is the author of The Speckled Monster: A Historical Tale of Battling Smallpox. In addition to writing for Smithsonian magazine, Carrell has taught in the history and literature program at Harvard and has directed Shakespeare for Harvard’s Hyperion Theatre Company. She lives in Tucson, Arizona.
Table of Contents
The Speckled Monster Acknowledgments
Introduction
Part One. London
1. Two Marys
2. Three Rebellions
3. A Destroying Angel
4. Bidding the World Adieu
5. My Dear Little Son
6. Rosebuds in Lily Skin
Part Two. Boston
1. Zabdiel and Jerusha
2. Curiosities of the Smallpox
3. The Beauty of the Sea
4. Caging the Monster
5. Demonic Wings
6. Fathers and Sons
Part Three. Hell Upon Earth
1. Salutation Alley
2. Prying Multitudes
3. An Infusion of Malignant Filth
4. The Castle of Misery
5. Signs and Wonders
6. Newgate
7. An Hour of Mourning
8. The King's Pardon
9. Raw Head and Bloody Bones
10. Just Retribution
11. In Royal Fashion
Aftermath
1. Meetings and Partings
2. The Practice
3. The People
Notes
Abbreviations
Sources
Bibliography