Consumptive Chic: A History of Beauty, Fashion, and Disease

Product Description
During the late 18th and early 19th centuries, there was a tubercular 'moment' in which perceptions of the consumptive disease became inextricably tied to contemporary concepts of beauty, playing out in the clothing fashions of the day. With the ravages of the illness widely regarded as conferring beauty on the sufferer, it became commonplace to regard tuberculosis as a positive affliction, one to be emulated in both beauty practices and dress. While medical writers of the time believed that the fashionable way of life of many women actually rendered them susceptible to the disease, Carolyn A. Day investigates the deliberate and widespread flouting of admonitions against these fashion practices in the pursuit of beauty. Through an exploration of contemporary social trends and medical advice revealed in medical writing, literature and personal papers, Consumptive Chic uncovers the intimate relationship between fashionable women's clothing, and medical understandings of the illness. Illustrated with over 40 full color fashion plates, caricatures, medical images, and photographs of original garments, this is a compelling story of the intimate relationship between the body, beauty, and disease - and the rise of 'tubercular chic'.
Review
“A well-researched and diligently compiled cultural history of tuberculosis.” ―Book of the Week, Times Higher Education“Drawing on medical treatises, beauty manuals, fashion periodicals, and other literature of the period, this thoroughly researched and erudite work will satisfy those interested in social and ­cultural ­history.” ―Library Journal“I enjoyed learning more about the historical development of the disease ... very well written, with substantial attention to detail.” ―Fashion, Style and Popular Culture“[Carolyn] Day's monograph is a valuable addition to our understanding of just how a disease as overdetermined as consumption plays out across different discourses that constitute a particular social world: in this case, the period roughly covering 1780–1850.” ―Social History of Medicine“At its best, the book is an innovative and well-researched effort to explore how the apparently meaningless ebb and flow of aesthetic tastes is linked to a larger epidemiological and discursive contexts.” ―Victorian Studies
About the Author
Carolyn A. Day is Assistant Professor at Furman University where she teaches British History and the History of Medicine. She received a BA in History and a BSc in Microbiology from Louisiana State University, US, an MPhil in History and Philosophy of Science from Cambridge University, UK, and a PhD from Tulane University, US, in British history.