‘Bats, Rats and Barristers’: The Lancet , libel and the radical stylistics of early nineteenth-century English medicine.

The article looks at the history of medicine in Great Britain, focusing on the 19th century. It traces changes in the social and cultural character of the medical profession through primary sources, particularly the medical journal "The Lancet." Topics include the relation between efforts to reform the medical profession and overall political reform, surgeon and politician Thomas Wakley, and Wakley's trial for libel.