Sweating Sickness: In a Nutshell

by Claire Ridgway

MadeGlobal's History in a Nutshell Series aims to give readers a good grounding in a historical topic in a concise, easily digestible and accessible way.Claire Ridgway, author and creator of The Anne Boleyn Files, is known for her easy-going style, but with an emphasis on good history and sound research. In Sweating Sickness in a Nutshell, Claire Ridgway examines what the historical sources say about the five epidemics of the mystery disease which hit England between 1485 and 1551, and considers the symptoms, who it affected, the treatments, theories regarding its cause and why it only affected English people.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Historical, Tudor Period, Science

50 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 28, 2014

About the author

Claire Ridgway is the author of the best-selling books On This Day in Tudor History(October 2012), The Anne Boleyn Collection (Feb 2012), The Fall of Anne Boleyn: A Countdown (April 2012), The Anne Boleyn Collection II (September 2013) George Boleyn: Tudor Poet, Courtier and Diplomat (April 2014), Sweating Sickness: In an Nutshell (August 2014), Illustrated Kings and Queens of England (November 2014) and Tudor Places of Great Britain (October 2015).

Claire worked in education and freelance writing before creating The Anne Boleyn Files history website and becoming a full-time history researcher, blogger and author. The Anne Boleyn Files is known for its historical accuracy and Claire's mission to get to the truth behind Anne Boleyn's story. Her writing is easy-to-read and conversational, and readers often comment on how reading Claire's books is like having a coffee with her and chatting about history.

Claire is also the founder of The Tudor Society.

Reviews

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ridgway's essay on the Sweating Sickness is exactly what the title claims. The essay is a good overview, introduction, what you need to know about the illness. She even covers how the illness is depicted in fiction. Nicely done discussion about what it could or could not be.

[Rebecca Huston · Rating 4 out of 5]

How to Survive the Sweat

Lately, I've been devouring books based around the Tudor period of English history. This one, more of a slim pamphlet than a book, takes as it's subject the disease that ravaged England, and terrified people. The book starts off with of the Sweating Sickness, who it struck, the symptoms, and what it could have been ( my money is on Hantavirus). There's a chapter on when it struck, and possible cures. All in in, I liked this one and happily recommended it to anyone interested in the Tudors. The only drawback is that it wasn't longer. Four stars overall.

[Aishuu · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very matter-of-fact resource about the Sweating Sickness (useful to have a bit more info since I'm into Tudor history). It does read like a college paper in that it's short, dry and broken down as such. This isn't anything I'd recommend to be read independently by non-English history buffs, but it's good to know.

[Terri · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick read about several unexplained epidemics in the 13th and 14th centuries that killed incredibly quickly. Though there is no known identification of the disease, it is very interesting to read the historical accounts and 'treatments'.

[Barbara Montalvo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informative and kept my interest

I love Claire's books and YouTube channel. This is a short yet complete overview of what is known about the English Sweat, aka Sweating Sickness. This book makes for a consise way to learn more about the topic. It kept my interest and I honestly hope the scientific researchers eventually find out more on this mystery illness so Claire can give up an update.

[Kathleen Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

everything you ever wanted to know about the "sweat" but were afraid to ask; this book will answer. Written in clear, refreshing style,easy to read this book will provide necessary info to understand this deadly disease that ravaged late medieval England and then just disappeared! If you are interested in Tudor England, read bios of Anne Bolyen by Eric Ives or Allison Weir and books on Henry VIII to gain perspective. Anne survived the "sweat"--many others did not.

[Ellie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hmmmmmmm

I do love Claire's books, but this left me rather cold...pardon the pun. A very quick read, with lots of information. I do wish it hadn't been written in the medieval style of speaking..I found that a bit difficult. But this little book has bunches of interesting facts.

[Lisa Shardlow · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interesting read about the mysterious Sweating Sickness. I particularly enjoyed the treatments section of this book, horn of a Unicorn? Were they serious? Actually, I think they were! Funny how it only affected English people...

[Tina Chandler · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Sweat

A.very interesting treatise of the dread Sweating Sickness of the Tudor period. Possible causes and the 'interesting ' cures for this illness. A must read for those interested in medical anthropology

[Zoe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short But Intersting

Short factual account of the sweating sickness, including possible causes and odd remedies. I liked the contrast of fictional vs historical accounts of the illness. Maybe one day we will know what it was and how it spread.

[Daisy k · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing too exciting, just a super short telling of the effects of the deadly disease which swept across Tudor England and only specifically targeted those of English heritage. Super useful for my studies too !!!

[Kimberly · Rating 1 out of 5]

It was more like a high school term paper than a book. Not much information.

[LadyH39 · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very short read but does what it says on the ‘tin’. I did find it quite tedious reading if i’m
honest but i’m happy I read it

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well organized and covered the content well. Was very interesting to me as one of my ancestors, William Carey, succumbed to this disease, and is even mentioned in the book.

[Katia M. Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting little read outlining this strange illness. I particularly enjoyed the section on proposed treatments.

[Sarah - All The Book Blog Names Are Taken · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review to come shortly, interesting little read and exactly what title implies - info in a nutshell.

++++++++++++++

My book blog ---> http://allthebookblognamesaretaken.bl...

Direct and straight to the point, just like I like 'em. I am so confused by those who have rated this book lower based on the fact that they feel it is short, or more like a thesis; I mean, it is part of a series call 'In a Nutshell', so I am unsure what others were expecting.

There are no superfluous details here. It is exactly what the title implies. A mysterious illness impacted England intermittently primarily throughout over half the reign of the Tudor dynasty and we still don't really know anything about it, other than the fact that it often struck a very specific group - wealthy English males, 30-40. Though they were not the only ones to catch the Sweat, they were the largest group represented among the dead. Additionally, by and large even those foreign to England who caught the illness seemed to recover at great rate - something England's citizens could not do.

I found the theories that Ridgway explores quite interesting, particularly the one that compares the death rate of those with Anglo-Saxon ancestry vs. those with Celtic ancestry.

Ridgway also discusses the variety of ways that people attempted to treat the sweating sickness or keep it away altogether. It was quite interesting to read specifically about Henry VIII's herbs/medicines. The author used numerous contemporary sources, which I found most valuable. It never ceases to amaze me how far medicine has come and I am time and again thankful to have been born in the 20th century.

This is a very quick read, took me maybe half an hour. Highly recommended for a quick look at a most mysterious time in England's history.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent Summary of a Mysterious Illness

This volume is a well written and well organized booklet giving the known contemporary descriptions of the symptoms and treatments for the "English Sweat." A scarily brief virus with no warning before onset and a high mortality rate (often within hours of being struck ill), one can understand why the upper class of Tudor England - who were unusually susceptible to it - were terrified by even hearing rumors of an outbreak.

Using quite a full list of primary sources, Ridgway outlines what the people, doctors, and observers knew, guessed, and feared about this sickness that played a macabre game of hide-and-seek with England, sometimes disappearing for years or even decades before rearing its sweaty head once more. The fact that it seemed to prey almost entirely on Englishmen must have made them wonder if it were a punishment from God; foreigners who managed to contract it almost universally survived while the English dropped dead by the dozens, often in a single afternoon.
Beyond the primary sources, Ridgway gives us a glimpse at what has been written on this fascinating subject since its heyday. While medical science has come a long way in 500 years, scientists still do not really know what the Sweat was - or if it might come back one day.

The only thing that might have enhanced this volume would be a list of the modern names of the herbs involved in the remedies. But this would likely be enjoyed mostly by those with a medical background and/or herbalists like myself. And considering the long and varied list of remedies in the appendix, would have added several more pages to the book!

In all, a quick and informative read for those who are interested in the period. Highly recommended.

[Carolina Casas · Rating 5 out of 5]

The sweating sickness is one of the biggest enigmas in history. Claure Ridgway does a good job explaining the ailments that came with this disease, as well as dispelling the common myth that it was a product of the first Tudor king's mercenaries when he came to claim the crown of England, and tracing its possible origins. She does a good job using contemporary sources and modern medical research. I believe it was a mixture of all the bacteria and possible reasons listed in this book from the floors being not well swept, not good hygiene, rat population growth during summer to the pulmonary disease as well as many others.

[Meaghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a concise and thorough coverage of the mysterious disease that struck England several times during the Tudor period before vanishing just as quickly as it appeared. If you were writing a book about the Tudors, whether fiction or nonfiction, I think this book would be an asset to your research.

[Angie and the Daily Book Dose · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was more of an essay on the Sweating Sickness. It was a simple read and took virtually no time. The thesis of this short book would make a very good beginning for a full length account on the disease and it's consequences. Very interesting aside about how Anglo-Saxons were more likely to get the swear than those of Celtic extraction .
.

[Heather Mims · Rating 5 out of 5]

A concise yet highly informative overview of the sweating sickness, which ravaged England in the late 15th and 16th centuries. I was excited to find this, especially when I realized it was written by one of my favorite Tudorphiles. Well worth the read!

[Tiffany Laesch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it. Easy to read/understand. She used the original passages from books, it was fun to see how they spelled things. If you have a hard time with some words it helps saying them outloud. Like everything else of hers I loved it.

[Robyn Ferland · Rating 5 out of 5]

The sweating sickness

I thoroughly enjoy all things Tudor, and was quite inquisitive after reading many books, watching the Tudors, movies about Henry Vll, etc. this book informed, answered questions and gave enough info but did not overdue it. I'd like to read it again.

[Eric and Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting historical information. A little too short, but that is the point of the "in a nutshell" part of the title, so it is not really a sticking point. It had the effect that I would like to read a more comprehensive treatise on this disease and its historical impact, though.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I definitely learned a bit from this really short piece on the sweating sickness. I knew it was possibly hantavirus, and that Anne Boleyn had suffered from it, but I was really surprised to see it mostly affected rich, young men. A quick, informative read!

[Misty Rae · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good starting point

This book does exactly what it sets out to do, it gives an overview of the sweating sickness and just enough information to help interested readers decide where to go next

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative.

[Giselle Scotdeerie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some interesting info

And some digression away from Sweating Sickness... but if you are a Tudorphile, you'll enjoy this quick little book no matter where it wanders in its telling.

[Vickie · Rating 4 out of 5]

interesting.

[jane andraka · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty short

Decided to try this book but it's more like a short school paper than a book
A few theories offered but nothing in depth