eishiya reviewed The Victorian Hospital by Lavinia Mitton
Good but overpriced introduction
2 stars
This is a 32-page booklet describing the conditions, development, and contemporary views of Victorian hospitals. For its tiny size, it's quite full of information and illustrations. It runs through some of the advances in 19th century medicine (anaesthesia, germ theory and antisepsis, ward ventilation), and the major types of hospitals (voluntary hospitals, specialist hospitals, rural cottage hospitals, workhouse hospitals, hospitals for infectious diseases, mental asylums), summarising how each type changed over time.
It is illustrated in black and white with photos and period illustrations. The images and their captions include some neat tidbits on topics not covered in the main text, such as nurse uniforms, how voluntary hospitals were funded, and how formal or chaotic hospitals could be.
If you're looking to learn about Victorian hospitals, this isn't a bad introduction. It includes a list of suggested reading and suggestions of museums to visit in case you need more information. …
This is a 32-page booklet describing the conditions, development, and contemporary views of Victorian hospitals. For its tiny size, it's quite full of information and illustrations. It runs through some of the advances in 19th century medicine (anaesthesia, germ theory and antisepsis, ward ventilation), and the major types of hospitals (voluntary hospitals, specialist hospitals, rural cottage hospitals, workhouse hospitals, hospitals for infectious diseases, mental asylums), summarising how each type changed over time.
It is illustrated in black and white with photos and period illustrations. The images and their captions include some neat tidbits on topics not covered in the main text, such as nurse uniforms, how voluntary hospitals were funded, and how formal or chaotic hospitals could be.
If you're looking to learn about Victorian hospitals, this isn't a bad introduction. It includes a list of suggested reading and suggestions of museums to visit in case you need more information. If you already know that you'll need to research the topic of Victorian hospitals in detail, you'll probably be better off going straight to more comprehensive sources, however.
A big issue with "The Victorian Hospital" is its price. If you can find it at a charity shop for £1 or something, it might be alright, but its cover price is £3.50 (in 2002!), and online it's usually pricier than it's worth, especially with delivery fees. There seems to be a slightly thicker version of the same book, hopefully with a little more information, but I haven't read that one.