Published by Strange Attractor Press
In association with Wellcome Collection

ISBN: 978-0-9558761-0-3
Publication: 24 November 2008
Medical London web site

' ‘Immaculate…a beautiful and enlightening compendium... a supremely beautiful box of edifying delights' Londonist

‘Beautifully packaged…Barnett and Jay have produced a wonderful history both of Londoners’ lives and the medical profession’ .. Observer

‘This is London’s real heritage…all human life, and human death, is here’ .. Peter Ackroyd, The Times

‘The best book about London in years’ .. Nature (Network London)

‘Like two white-aproned anatomists, Barnett and Jay stand above the still-breathing body of the city. They unveil a new and thrilling pathology - the city and the patient are one and the same…Medical London encourages the reader to enjoy the city to the full’ .. Financial Times

For two thousand years, health and sickness have danced across, above and below the city’s streets, defining London life in the process. Medical London charts the many roles that diseases, treatments and cures have played in the city’s sprawling story, and reveals how London, in turn, has shaped the professions and practices of modern medicine. In doing so, it guides its readers on their own journey through the city’s streets and landmarks, and resurrects the vanished traces of its past.

Medical London: City of Diseases, City of Cures, is a major new undertaking from Strange Attractor Press, in association with Wellcome Collection.

Written by Richard Barnett and edited by SAJ contributor Mike Jay, Medical London comprises three distinct parts, all enclosed in a hardback cloth slipcase: Sick City, a book of essays outlining aspects of London’s medical history; Anatomy of the City, a beautifully illustrated full-colour gazetteer featuring London sites of medical interest; and six full-colour maps of suggested walking routes for those who wish to explore the city’s history for themselves.

Helmed by the acclaimed historian and author Mike Jay, the collection presents a unique melding of minds and talents. Richard Barnett’s essays and texts – wry, lucid and deeply informative – are already being compared to the work of Roy Porter and Peter Ackroyd, and are perfectly complimented by elegant presentation from the SAP team of Alison Hutchinson, Nadia Katz-Wise and Mark Pilkington.

More information at medicallondon.org
Available from Amazon and all good bookshops