A User's Guide to Melancholy takes Robert Burton's encyclopaedic masterpiece The Anatomy of Melancholy (first published in 1621) as a guide to one of the most perplexing, elusive, attractive, and afflicting diseases of the Renaissance. Burton's Anatomy is perhaps the largest, strangest, and most unwieldy self-help book ever written. Engaging with the rich cultural and literary framework of melancholy, this book traces its causes, symptoms, and cures through Burton's writing. Each chapter starts with a case study of melancholy - from the man who was afraid to urinate in case he drowned his town to the girl who purged a live eel - as a way into exploring the many facets of this mental affliction. A User's Guide to Melancholy presents in an accessible and illustrated format the colourful variety of Renaissance melancholy, and contributes to contemporary discussions about wellbeing by revealing the earlier history of mental health conditions. 'The book's slim size and modest price could help make it a good choice for courses either in the history of medicine or literature. Instructors of senior seminars in English or history in particular might wish to discuss with students whether Lund's methodology could be applied to other primary sources, time periods, or geographical locales ... Highly recommended.' A. K. Ackerberg-Hastings, Choice'Throughout, Lund's lucid prose brings Burton life for a new generation of readers and succeeds at imposing order on a most disorderly masterpiece.' Times Literary Supplement'A fine guide to a classic work.' Morning Star'A learned, broad and readable picture of Renaissance medicine.' Nicholas Lezard, The Guardian'At a time when challenges to mental health are severe and widespread, Mary Ann Lund is a welcome guide to a classic work on the subject.' Casper Henderson, The Spectator'In her superb new monograph about Burton's work, A User's Guide to Melancholy, Mary Ann Lund, a scholar of Renaissance literature, explains how melancholy has always had a span as wide as the mind's horizon.' Horatio Clare, UnHerd'At last there is an accessible way into Robert Burton's labyrinthine masterpiece! Dr Lund has distilled all the wit, recondite learning and human empathy of The Anatomy of Melancholy into this wonderful guide.' Colin Gale, Bethlem Museum of the Mind'A rich and fascinating tour through the territory of melancholy in seventeenth-century England and beyond. Lund provides an expert but very readable introduction to Burton's masterpiece, and her entertaining exploration of the cultural resonances of the Anatomy's medical, psychological, and literary subject matter also prompts us to think seriously about the lasting historical legacies of those who wrote about and struggled with melancholy in the past.' Angus Gowland, Reader in Intellectual History, University College London'A truly fascinating historical journey through an extraordinary range of mental health experiences. Full of captivating descriptions, with Mary Ann Lund the perfect engaging and enlightening guide.' Daniel Freeman, Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Oxford, Consultant Clinical Psychologist and Presenter of BBC Radio 4's A History of Delusions'I didn't think it possible for my favourite book to be summarised, and analysed, and explained so well. Mary Ann Lund has done Burton a great service, and us readers too, whether or not we've embarked on the wide and turbulent sea of his prose. What I found particularly enlightening was the author's examination of other texts, ancient and medieval and from Burton's own time, about this endlessly absorbing subject, and the perspective she reveals on the condition of melancholy from a modern viewpoint. Burton is inexhaustible and irreplaceable, of course, but this delightfully written and brilliantly informative guide is the best introduction to this great book I have ever seen. I hope it has a great success, and remains in prin
- Libro Impreso
- Edición:
- Editorial: Vintage
- Autor: Lund, Mary Ann
