Cholera was the scourge of nineteenth century Britain, with four devastating epidemics sweeping the country from the 1830s to the 1860s. David McLean provides a detailed study of the efforts of local and national government efforts to combat the disease. Based on a unique cache of documents, McLean's account exposes the struggles between local and national government as they grappled with the enormity of the problem and the conflict between policies of laissez-faire and state intervention. Describing the efforts of public health reformer Edwin Chadwick in conjunction with among others, Prime Minister Lord Russell, Admiral Lord Cochrane and local Plymouth leader Joseph Beer, McLean brings to life a vital period in British social and political history with policy consequences that reverberate today.
Provides an account of the battle against cholera. This work is based on documents in the naval towns of south-west England. The author's account exposes the struggles between local and national government, and the conflict between policies of laissez-faire and state intervention.About the AuthorDavid McLean is Professor of History at King's College London. He is author of Education and Empire and'War, Diplomacy and Informal Empire and the Republics of La Plata 1836-1853 (I.B. Tauris).
Book InformationISBN 9781350176171
Author David McLeanFormat Paperback
Page Count 256
Imprint Bloomsbury AcademicPublisher Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Weight(grams) 299g