The Dean Disordered

Jonathan Swift and Humoral Medicine

Paul William Child

$91.99

Paperback

Forthcoming
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English

University of Virginia Press
24 September 2025

Biography: general; Literary studies: c 1500 to c 1800; Disability: social aspects; History of medicine

Series: Peculiar Bodies

Understanding Jonathan Swift’ s medical and literary life

The Dean Disordered bridges biography and literary criticism to examine the chronic afflictions suffered by the great Irish satirist Jonathan Swift, investigating not only how these ailments affected his day-to-day social life and ambitions but also how he represented them in his correspondence and imaginative writings. By historicizing Swift's medical issues, Paul William Child returns the creator of the iconic character of Gulliver (a surgeon, notably) to the humoral body that he knew. Child situates Swift's complaints within the theory of illness as an imbalance of fluid humors that had persisted since classical days, considering how Swift tried to make sense of and contain his own humors through narrative explanation, medical interventions and regimen, performances in the 'sick role,' and imaginative representations. Rather than accepting modern diagnoses of Swift's illnesses, The Dean Disordered reconstructs the medical culture of his time. The book opens a window into Swift's experience of illness and prompts us to read both the man and his works anew.

By: Paul William Child
Imprint: University of Virginia Press
Country of Publication: United States [Currently unable to ship to USA: see Shipping Info]
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm, Spine: 25mm
ISBN: 9780813953335
ISBN 10: 0813953332
Series: Peculiar Bodies
Pages: 288
Publication Date: 24 September 2025
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Paul William Child is Professor of English at Sam Houston State University.