Before Depression
1660 - 1800

More about 'The Englishman's Malady'

Professor Nigel Wood:

'The Englishman's Malady: Goldsmith and Civilised Needs' takes its title from the eighteenth-century doctor George Cheyne's famous book, 'The English Malady', in which Cheyne attempted to explain why all conditions involving lowness of spirits were known by foreigners 'in Derision' as 'the ENGLISH MALADY'. Cheyne put the blame on the English lifestyle. This lecture develops the connections between melancholy and the civilised state with particular reference to the popular and prolific writer Oliver Goldsmith, author of 'She Stoops to Conquer', 'The Vicar of Wakefield' and 'The Citizen of the World'.

This lecture can now be downloaded as an audio file