The joke that prevailed in Europe for centuries was that anyone in a hurry to die should call a doctor. From ancient Greece, doctors were known for administering painful and often deadly treatments—and for the financial burden that entailed. For the most effective treatment, patients turned to the women in their lives. This system remained in operation for hundreds of years but disappeared in less than a century.

Contrary to the familiar story, medicine did not improve during the Scientific Revolution. Nevertheless, between 1650 and 1740, women in the family and doctors swapped places in cultural consciousness: she turned into an ineffective, possibly dangerous quack, while he became a knowledgeable, reliable expert. Professionals familiarized the idea of being paid for what people already had at home for free, laying the foundation for the Big Pharma industry and today's global profit-driven pharmaceutical system.

A subversive history of medicine, The Pharmacist's Wife challenges the myths of science's triumph and reveals the stunning truth. Drawing from a vast body of archival material, Karen Bloom Gevirtz portrays the extraordinary cast of characters that caused this transformation. She also explores the values of domestic medicine in responses to modern health crises, such as the eradication of smallpox, and what benefits we can learn from these events.

Pages: 336, Year of Publication: 0304, Dimensions: 15.3x15.3cm