5.1 Introduction

The disastrous effects of such eighteenth-century scourges as smallpox and other infectious conditions are commonly noted in general accounts of the 1700s. In contrast, the snapshots of health and illness found in the Drake letters focus more on self-limiting and chronic illnesses, albeit with hovering fears of life-threatening situations. Thus Nicholas Rowe wrote to Sir Francis on 9 June 1752:

In weaving together excerpts from the letters with background notes, this account considers: home care and choices of practitioners; maintaining personal health; some specific medical conditions; and treatments. In so doing, a key consideration is an individual's approach to health, thus adding to the growing historical literature that focuses on patients’ attitudes, beliefs, and practices that are not necessarily time-bound.

Additionally, the letters from the apothecary William Hudson spotlight the intriguing transition of apothecaries to general medical practitioners, while those from Nicholas Rowe prompt questions as to whether the quality of medical care and the impact of illness on business and society in rural Britain differed significantly from London and other growing urban areas. Even though Rowe's letters offer no specific answers, the context of a rural–urban divide, seen as a growing issue in the 1700s, should be borne in mind. It was even reflected in the opening lines of the poet-physician Mark Akenside's ‘Ode to Sir Francis Henry Drake, Baronet’: