Medicine, Theology and Wellness in Britain from the Enlightenment to Modernity

by Lesa Scholl

Overview

Focusing questions of the soul and its relationship to the body in the context of Britain from the late eighteenth to the early twentieth century, this book exploresthe ways in which medicine and theology co-created modern perceptions of well-being. It intervenes in the presumed conflict between science and religion in long nineteenth-century studies by exposing the way medicine and theology worked together to form ideas of health and wellness.

Using religious, theological, and medical history alongside literary scholarship on writers and thinkers from the French Revolution through to the fin de siècle, it illuminates how health and illness are socially constructed. In doing so, it engages with current debates on the nature of health and wellness, critiquing and contextualizing these concepts in scientific, moral, and historical terms.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781350410923
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	10/16/2025
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	248
File size:	772 KB

About the Author

Dr Lesa Scholl, FRHistS, is an honorary fellow in the School of Culture and Communication at the University of Melbourne. Her previous publications include: Food Restraint and Fasting in Victorian Religion and Literature; Hunger, Poetry and the Oxford Movement; Medicine, Health and Being Human; and Hunger Movements in Early Victorian Literature.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Healthy Bodies, Healthy Souls
1: Revolutionary Uprising, Industrialisation, and Nutritional Change
2: Anglican Revivals, Natural Theology, and the Physical Sciences
3: Well-Being, the Social Soul, and the Rise of Public Health
4: Eco-Theology and Ethical Eating
5: Returning to Fragments: Modernism, Decadence, and Disease
Conclusion: Moral and Physical Discomfort
Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

A timely, clear, and enjoyable insight into the interweaving contributions of medicine and theology on ideas of dietary and general health. Wide-ranging and perceptive, this book shows us the historical foundations of the modern obsession with diet and wellness.” —Professor Andrew Mangham, University of Reading, UK

“In our currently polarized world, thoughtful explorations of the supposed conflict between science and religion are sorely needed. This book investigates how medicine and theology co-created ideas of health and wellness from the late Enlightenment to the early 20th century, particularly regarding norms for nutrition and what makes a body 'healthy' in all senses. It adeptly shows the ways in which our understandings of the body, the soul, and the mind have intertwined scientific, medical, and theological roots that are deeply engrained in our culture and which in turn have generated moral framings of eating and nutrition that typically escape our notice. Anyone seeking an erudite journey through the complex sociocultural history of our modern notions of appetite, moderation, and identity should read this book.” —Rachel A. Ankeny, Chair and Professor of Philosophy, Wageningen University, The Netherlands

From the Publisher