{"product_id":"9781803286990","title":"The Apothecary's Wife: The Hidden History of Medicine and How It Becamea Commodity","description":"Author: Gevirtz, Karen Bloom\u003cbr\u003eISBN: 9781803286990\u003cbr\u003ePublisher: Bloomsbury\u003cbr\u003eYear first published: 04 Mar 2025\u003cbr\u003ePages: 352 Format: Hardback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe running joke in Europe for centuries was that anyone in a hurry to die should call the doctor. As far back as ancient Greece, physicians were notorious for administering painful and often fatal treatments     and charging for the privilege. For the most effective treatment, the ill and injured went to the women in their lives. This system lasted hundreds of years. It was gone in less than a century.\u003cbr\u003eContrary to the familiar story, medication did not improve during the Scientific Revolution. Yet somehow, between 1650 and 1740, the domestic female and the physician switched places in the cultural consciousness- she became the ineffective, potentially dangerous quack, he the knowledgeable, trustworthy expert. The professionals normalized the idea of paying them for what people already got at home without charge, laying the foundation for Big Pharma and today's global for-profit medication system.\u003cbr\u003eA revelatory history of medicine, \u003ci\u003eThe Apothecary's Wife\u003c\/i\u003e challenges the myths of the triumph of science and instead uncovers the fascinating truth. Drawing on a vast body of archival material, Karen Bloom Gevirtz depicts the extraordinary cast of characters who brought about this transformation. She also explores domestic medicine's values in responses to modern health crises, such as the eradication of smallpox, and what benefits we can learn from these events.","brand":"Ships in 10 to 15 days","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46636921749662,"sku":"UBD-9781803286990","price":44.78,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0400\/9043\/5742\/files\/9781803286990.jpg?v=1774399690","url":"https:\/\/classicbargains.com.au\/products\/9781803286990","provider":"Classic Bargains Australia","version":"1.0","type":"link"}