{"id":13208,"date":"2011-12-07T15:13:05","date_gmt":"2011-12-07T14:13:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/?p=13208"},"modified":"2011-12-09T12:19:17","modified_gmt":"2011-12-09T11:19:17","slug":"david-payne-dickens-and-doctors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2011\/12\/07\/david-payne-dickens-and-doctors\/","title":{"rendered":"David Payne: Dickens and doctors"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"David Dinah Birch’s recent review<\/a> of Claire Tomalin’s<\/a> biography of Charles Dickens celebrates the “exuberant variety” and “multiplicity” of his life. He reinvented himself constantly – child labourer, solicitors’ clerk, journalist, editor, actor, philanthropist, social reformer, and a novelist who like Chaucer and Shakespeare,\u00a0came to represent his age. Birch could easily have defined Dickens in terms of the professions he rejected – he was urged to enter Parliament, and, if you consider the attention Tomalin pays in her book to Dickens’ interest in health and medicine, a medical career may have beckoned. Certainly there is an established critical interest in Dickens and medicine (a colleague attended a conference on the subject earlier this year).\u00a0Dickens’s fondness for the doctor might also be demonstrated by the fact that his\u00a0pen spares\u00a0the profession\u00a0the biting social commentary reserved for lawyers and civil servants in his fiction. There is no medical equivalent of the Circumlocution Office, and no medical negligence claim equivalent to Jarndyce vs Jarndyce.<\/p>\n

But where did Dickens’\u00a0interest in medicine come from? Perhaps his own sickly childhood triggered a fascination not only with his own mental and physical wellbeing, but of others also.\u00a0One turning point\u00a0seems to have taken place in 1838 when the 26-year-old author attended a mesmerism demonstration organised by John Elliotson, a founder of University College Hospital and a\u00a0follower of Thomas Wakley, founder of The Lancet<\/a><\/em>. Mesmerism, according to Ellitson’s Wikipedia entry<\/a>, was then vying with phrenology for scientific authority.<\/p>\n

Dickens became\u00a0hooked. Three years later in Genoa, he met the banker Emile De La Rue, whose wife Augusta suffered from a nervous disorder. According to Tomalin, Dickens was “ready to play the doctor” despite having no medical training. Augusta was put into a “sleep like trance” and asked about her childhood experiences. The “treatment” had a positive effect. She told the author she was sleeping better. Dickens, famously susceptible to needy women, became emotionally involved. He suffered sleepless nights on her behalf, and confessed to her husband that she was somehow “being part of him.”<\/p>\n

But then he suddenly detached himself from her, and taught her husband (unsuccessfully, it appears) how to mesmerise Augusta himself. They remained friends, but Augusta’s condition soon returned, and she rejected Dickens’ suggestion that she become a patient of Elliotson’s because she had heard that some of his patients had psychiatric disorders.<\/p>\n

Dickens’ faith in the medical profession made him, like Queen\u00a0Victoria, \u00a0an early advocate of chloroform. This may have been due in part to\u00a0his need for surgery himself, in 1841, for a fistula. Eight years later he insisted that his wife Catherine be given it when her eighth child was delivered. In 1847 Sir James Simpson had championed the anaesthetic properties of chloroform for childbirth and surgery in a BMJ<\/em> paper<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But back to Elliotson, who became the Dickens family doctor. I’m writing this blog at BMA House in Tavistock Square, built on the site of a house lived in by Dickens before he cruelly walked out on his wife Catherine and decamped to Gadshill Place, Kent. Elliotson lived nearby (in a house now inhabited by the actor Rupert Everett).<\/p>\n

Everett, of course is an actor and writer whose\u00a0books <\/a>are\u00a0unashamedly autobiographical. A bit like Dickens, I suppose.<\/p>\n

David Payne<\/strong> is editor, bmj.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dinah Birch’s recent review of Claire Tomalin’s biography of Charles Dickens celebrates the “exuberant variety” and “multiplicity” of his life. He reinvented himself constantly – child labourer, solicitors’ clerk, journalist, […]<\/p>\n

More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1752,116],"tags":[2726,2727,2728],"class_list":["post-13208","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-david-payne","category-editors-at-large","tag-charles-dickens","tag-chloroform","tag-james-simpson"],"yoast_head":"\nDavid Payne: Dickens and doctors - The BMJ<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2011\/12\/07\/david-payne-dickens-and-doctors\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"David Payne: Dickens and doctors - The BMJ\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Dinah Birch’s recent review of Claire Tomalin’s biography of Charles Dickens celebrates the “exuberant variety” and “multiplicity” of his life. He reinvented himself constantly – child labourer, solicitors’ clerk, journalist, [...]More...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2011\/12\/07\/david-payne-dickens-and-doctors\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The BMJ\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bmjdotcom\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-12-07T14:13:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2011-12-09T11:19:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.bmj.com\/site\/blog\/icons\/davidpayne.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"BMJ\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@bmj_latest\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@bmj_latest\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"BMJ\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2011\\\/12\\\/07\\\/david-payne-dickens-and-doctors\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2011\\\/12\\\/07\\\/david-payne-dickens-and-doctors\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"BMJ\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ba3da426ed20e8f1d933ca367d8216fe\"},\"headline\":\"David Payne: Dickens and doctors\",\"datePublished\":\"2011-12-07T14:13:05+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2011-12-09T11:19:17+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2011\\\/12\\\/07\\\/david-payne-dickens-and-doctors\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":559,\"commentCount\":1,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2011\\\/12\\\/07\\\/david-payne-dickens-and-doctors\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.bmj.com\\\/site\\\/blog\\\/icons\\\/davidpayne.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Charles Dickens\",\"chloroform\",\"James Simpson\"],\"articleSection\":[\"David Payne\",\"Editors at large\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2011\\\/12\\\/07\\\/david-payne-dickens-and-doctors\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2011\\\/12\\\/07\\\/david-payne-dickens-and-doctors\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2011\\\/12\\\/07\\\/david-payne-dickens-and-doctors\\\/\",\"name\":\"David Payne: Dickens and doctors - The BMJ\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2011\\\/12\\\/07\\\/david-payne-dickens-and-doctors\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2011\\\/12\\\/07\\\/david-payne-dickens-and-doctors\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.bmj.com\\\/site\\\/blog\\\/icons\\\/davidpayne.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2011-12-07T14:13:05+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2011-12-09T11:19:17+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2011\\\/12\\\/07\\\/david-payne-dickens-and-doctors\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2011\\\/12\\\/07\\\/david-payne-dickens-and-doctors\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2011\\\/12\\\/07\\\/david-payne-dickens-and-doctors\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.bmj.com\\\/site\\\/blog\\\/icons\\\/davidpayne.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.bmj.com\\\/site\\\/blog\\\/icons\\\/davidpayne.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2011\\\/12\\\/07\\\/david-payne-dickens-and-doctors\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"David Payne: Dickens and doctors\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/\",\"name\":\"The BMJ\",\"description\":\"Helping doctors make better decisions.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"The BMJ\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/files\\\/2018\\\/05\\\/The-BMJ-logo.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/files\\\/2018\\\/05\\\/The-BMJ-logo.jpg\",\"width\":852,\"height\":568,\"caption\":\"The BMJ\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/bmjdotcom\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/bmj_latest\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ba3da426ed20e8f1d933ca367d8216fe\",\"name\":\"BMJ\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/b4d8f39281bcae118348a1c027347b8e53b82d42520e774a8b50dd9a6ac6c01d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/b4d8f39281bcae118348a1c027347b8e53b82d42520e774a8b50dd9a6ac6c01d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/b4d8f39281bcae118348a1c027347b8e53b82d42520e774a8b50dd9a6ac6c01d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"BMJ\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/author\\\/admin\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"David Payne: Dickens and doctors - The BMJ","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2011\/12\/07\/david-payne-dickens-and-doctors\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"David Payne: Dickens and doctors - The BMJ","og_description":"Dinah Birch’s recent review of Claire Tomalin’s biography of Charles Dickens celebrates the “exuberant variety” and “multiplicity” of his life. He reinvented himself constantly – child labourer, solicitors’ clerk, journalist, [...]More...","og_url":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2011\/12\/07\/david-payne-dickens-and-doctors\/","og_site_name":"The BMJ","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bmjdotcom\/","article_published_time":"2011-12-07T14:13:05+00:00","article_modified_time":"2011-12-09T11:19:17+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.bmj.com\/site\/blog\/icons\/davidpayne.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"BMJ","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@bmj_latest","twitter_site":"@bmj_latest","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"BMJ","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2011\/12\/07\/david-payne-dickens-and-doctors\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2011\/12\/07\/david-payne-dickens-and-doctors\/"},"author":{"name":"BMJ","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/#\/schema\/person\/ba3da426ed20e8f1d933ca367d8216fe"},"headline":"David Payne: Dickens and doctors","datePublished":"2011-12-07T14:13:05+00:00","dateModified":"2011-12-09T11:19:17+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2011\/12\/07\/david-payne-dickens-and-doctors\/"},"wordCount":559,"commentCount":1,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2011\/12\/07\/david-payne-dickens-and-doctors\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/www.bmj.com\/site\/blog\/icons\/davidpayne.jpg","keywords":["Charles Dickens","chloroform","James Simpson"],"articleSection":["David Payne","Editors at large"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2011\/12\/07\/david-payne-dickens-and-doctors\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2011\/12\/07\/david-payne-dickens-and-doctors\/","url":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2011\/12\/07\/david-payne-dickens-and-doctors\/","name":"David Payne: Dickens and doctors - The BMJ","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2011\/12\/07\/david-payne-dickens-and-doctors\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2011\/12\/07\/david-payne-dickens-and-doctors\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/www.bmj.com\/site\/blog\/icons\/davidpayne.jpg","datePublished":"2011-12-07T14:13:05+00:00","dateModified":"2011-12-09T11:19:17+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2011\/12\/07\/david-payne-dickens-and-doctors\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2011\/12\/07\/david-payne-dickens-and-doctors\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2011\/12\/07\/david-payne-dickens-and-doctors\/#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/www.bmj.com\/site\/blog\/icons\/davidpayne.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/www.bmj.com\/site\/blog\/icons\/davidpayne.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2011\/12\/07\/david-payne-dickens-and-doctors\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"David Payne: Dickens and doctors"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/#website","url":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/","name":"The BMJ","description":"Helping doctors make better decisions.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/#organization","name":"The BMJ","url":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2018\/05\/The-BMJ-logo.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2018\/05\/The-BMJ-logo.jpg","width":852,"height":568,"caption":"The BMJ"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bmjdotcom\/","https:\/\/x.com\/bmj_latest"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/#\/schema\/person\/ba3da426ed20e8f1d933ca367d8216fe","name":"BMJ","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b4d8f39281bcae118348a1c027347b8e53b82d42520e774a8b50dd9a6ac6c01d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b4d8f39281bcae118348a1c027347b8e53b82d42520e774a8b50dd9a6ac6c01d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b4d8f39281bcae118348a1c027347b8e53b82d42520e774a8b50dd9a6ac6c01d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"BMJ"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/"],"url":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13208","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13208"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13208\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13208"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13208"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13208"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}