You probably thought this post would be about something like the anguish of writer’s block. But, no. I’m talking about actual ailments.
Dr. John J. Ross of Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital wrote a book called Shakespeare’s Tremor and Orwell’s Cough: The Medical Lives of Famous Writers. It’s a fascinating look at how diseases and mood disorders may have affected authors we all know.
Here are just a few of the cases:
1. William Shakespeare
It’s known that Shakespeare’s final signatures indicated he had a tremor of some kind. Rumor has it that the tremor was a side effect of treatment with mercury. Treatment of what, you ask? Syphilis. Turns out Shakespeare was quite the ladies’ man. Yikes.
2. John Milton
Milton’s poem “Paradise Lost” was written/dictated after he went blind. His blindness was probably caused by retinal detachment from severe myopia. It’s said he tried many methods–from the conventional to the strange–to save his eyesight, including: “mummy” (ground-up human bones or flesh), cat ointment, and the oil of puppies. He also tried the sugar of lead, which may have led to his gout and kidney disease.
3. The Brontes
Did you know all 6 Bronte sisters died of tuberculosis? It’s true. The plague killed off 1 percent of the enter English population per year in their time. The Brontes also had their share of emotional issues. Charlotte, Emily, and Anne suffered with major depressive disorders. Brother Banwell was bipolar and an alcoholic. Emily most likely had Asperger’s and a social anxiety disorder.
4. Herman Melville
Melville is said to have suffered with bipolar disorder. Moby Dick may have been written in a manic state. He struggled with depression and alcoholism later in life.
5. Jack London
Jack London also had bipolar disorder. While in manic states, he had reckless adventures that included barely surviving scurvy in the Yukon, alcoholic binges, and a suicide attempt in the San Francisco Bay. After a disastrous sailing cruise in the Pacific, he developed leg ulcers from a tropical disease and then ruined his kidneys by self-medicating with mercury. He was big on playing doctor and injected himself with all kinds of things, including opium and heroin. He died of a morphine overdose (probably accidental) at the age of 40.
Crazy stuff! Intereting.