Urban observation and sentiment in James Parkinson's Essay on the shaking palsy (1817)

Brian Hurwitz*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

16 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

James Parkinson's Essay on the Shaking Palsy (1817) has long been considered the foundational text of the disease which now bears the author's name. This paper shows how the Essay radically re-formulated a diverse array of human dysmobilities as a "species" of disease. Parkinson incorporated medical observation with a clear focus on patient experience and subjectivity in a deeply affecting narrative, fusing clinical and urban case-descriptions within the genre of a sentimental natural history. His detailed, diagnostic portrayal of the malady recast earlier descriptions of trembling, posture and gait disorder within a new narrative order, simultaneously recruiting reader involvement to the plight of sufferers. Hardly any clinical examination as we know it today undergirds what remains an exemplary account of disciplined medical witness. The Essaydemonstrates the potential of case construction and powerful, sympathetic case writing to transform clinical understanding of a complex medical condition of long duration.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)74-104
Number of pages31
JournalLiterature and Medicine
Volume32
Issue number1
Early online date24 Jun 2014
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 24 Jun 2014

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