How Shakespeare Cleaned His Teeth and Cromwell Treated His Warts: Secrets of the 17th Century Medicine Closet

What was medicine like in the time of Shakespeare and Oliver
Cromwell? How did Charles I cure a headache, or Samuel Pepys
get rid of kidney stones? Katherine Knight opens up the delights
of the Stuart medicine cabinet in this fascinating romp through
seventeenth-century medicine and cosmetics. Documenting the
all-important use of household substances and do-it-yourself
remedies, this book looks at the emergence of modern medicine
from everyday cures such as herbs, oils and foods. Offering solutions
for all sorts of nasty afflictions, from digestive disturbances
to sexually transmitted diseases, it also describes how our seventeenth-
century counterparts enjoyed the benefits of soap,
moisturiser and toothpaste. With insight into the lives of those
who lived in this remarkable period, How Shakespeare Cleaned
His Teeth is much more than a medical history. It is an intimate
investigation into the private lives of the spirited Stuarts.