Bøker av John Aikin

In this absorbing work of medical history, the physician and writer John Aikin (1747-1822) brings together biographical information on a selection of Britain's early medics, shedding light on the lives, works and quirks of more than fifty medical writers, surgeons and physicians between the thirteenth and seventeenth centuries. Outlining the roles played by major figures in the great medical advances that marked this period, the book was first published in 1780, prior to Aikin's move to Great Yarmouth in 1784 to practise medicine. However, his political beliefs and dissenting views regarding the Church of England contributed to his unpopularity in the area, prompting his move to London and greater literary freedom. Over the years, he produced a broad range of published works, including his historically valuable Description of the Country from Thirty to Forty Miles Round Manchester (1795), which is also reissued in the Cambridge Library Collection.

The late eighteenth century saw Manchester and its surroundings undergo significant change. Historically valuable and illustrated with maps and plates, this classic 1795 work offers a detailed portrait of a region in the process of industrialisation. Karl Marx notably referred to the book in his writings.