Health and medicine | Alice Loxton on the world of the Georgians

In episode four of the World of the Georgians, Alice Loxton investigates Georgian healthcare, where cutting-edge science sat uneasily alongside quack cures and medical scams

Published: February 2, 2026 at 9:04 AM

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Medicine in Georgian Britain was as ripe for ridicule as it was for reform. In this episode, Alice Loxton explores how satirical artists such as James Gillray mocked the confusion of 18th-century healthcare, where miracle cures, medical quacks and genuine scientific breakthroughs existed side by side. From dubious treatments to the controversy surrounding early vaccination, this episode reveals how caricature captured public anxieties about illness, science and the body.

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Want more from Alice? Find more episodes of the World of the Georgians.

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Alice Loxton is a historian, presenter and Sunday Times bestselling author with over three million followers on social media.

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