The Sick Rose

The Sick Rose is a beautifully gruesome and strangely fascinating visual tour through disease in an age before colour photography. This stunning volume, combining detailed illustrations of afflicted patients from some of the world's rarest medical books, forms an unforgettable and profoundly human reminder of mankind's struggle with disease. Incorporating historic maps, pioneering charts and contemporary case notes, Richard Barnett's evocative overview reveals the fears and obsessions of an era gripped by epidemics.

Richard Barnett studied medicine before becoming a historian. His writing has appeared in The Lancet, The London Magazine and The Natural Death Handbook. His first book, Medical London: City of Diseases, City of Cures, was published in 2008 and was a Book of the Week on BBC Radio 4. His second book, The Sick Rose, published by Thames & Hudson, was the winner of The British Book Design and Production Awards. Richard has also appeared on BBC4's 'The Beauty of Anatomy'. He is currently Director of studies in History, Pembroke-King's Programme, University of Cambridge and Honorary Research Fellow, UCL.