A Cure for Wellness

Eminent doctors and notorious charlatans vied for sick patients to treat in the cut-throat medical marketplace of Georgian England.

‘The QUACKS’, etching, published by William Humphrey, 27 March 1783
‘The QUACKS’, etching, published by William Humphrey, 27 March 1783. Alamy Stock Photo

 

Now celebrated as Richard Sheridan’s comic masterpiece, the first performance of The Rivals: Or a Trip to Bath was a farce in its own right. After a well-aimed apple hit the lead actor mid-speech, he turned to the audience and asked whether the problem lay with him or the play. Both, came the answer – but a fortnight later, a hastily rewritten version opened with a new cast and rapidly became a perennial favourite.

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