The Herbalist

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In the mid-seventeenth century, England faced unprecedented turmoil marked by civil war, devastating famine, and epidemics rivaling the Black Death, leading to staggering infant mortality rates. Amidst this chaos emerged Nicholas Culpeper's Herbal, a highly influential publication. Culpeper, an outcast from birth, rejected a life dictated by his tyrannical grandfather and the church, abandoning his university studies after a failed elopement. Disinherited, he sought refuge in London, where he found his calling in revolutionary ideas. At that time, London's medical landscape was dominated by the College of Physicians, led by the eminent William Harvey, who had discovered blood circulation. Operating within an underground network of religious sects and unlicensed apothecaries, Culpeper challenged this powerful institution at its zenith, ultimately contributing to the revolution that dismantled the monarchy. Benjamin Wooley vividly recounts these significant struggles, exploring the origins of contemporary concerns regarding medical science, professional authority, and government power. The narrative portrays Culpeper as a medical rebel who confronted the establishment and faced the consequences of his defiance.