That Jealous Demon, My Wretched Health
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A01=Jonathan Noble
Alcoholism
Author_Jonathan Noble
Beethoven
Category=AVLA
Category=AVN
Composers
Death
Disease
eq_art-fashion-photography
eq_bestseller
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_music
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
Illness
Jealous Demon
Mental Health
Mozart
Suicid
Tchaikovsky
Wretched Health
Product details
- ISBN 9781783272587
- Weight: 924g
- Dimensions: 156 x 234mm
- Publication Date: 15 Jun 2018
- Publisher: Boydell & Brewer Ltd
- Publication City/Country: GB
- Product Form: Hardback
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Despite much triumph in adversity, illness fuelling composition is a misconception.
The health - and especially deaths - of composers excite controversy. Was Mozart really poisoned? Did Tchaikovsky commit suicide? How did Beethoven lose his hearing? Much good previous scholarship has been sullied by unsubstantiated views, and many composers' reputations have been unfairly tarnished by scandalous commentary, often involving alcoholism or syphilis.
This book, by a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons, charts the disturbed physical and mental health of 70 great composers. It attempts to unpick the evidence forensically and to define the cause of death based on the legal paradigm of a balance of probabilities. The author reviews where the composer was when thefinal illness or death overtook him and considers how many of them would have fared with modern treatment. Chapters are organised thematically, by illness; and numerous misconceptions, such as madness fuelling creativity, are challenged. The book relates the nature of composition to composers' suffering, showcasing much triumph in adversity, and, importantly, rehabilitates reputations.
JONATHAN NOBLE is a retired surgeon, who has spent many years researching the illnesses and deaths of composers. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons and was President of the British Association of Knee Surgeons as well as the British Orthopaedic Sports Trauma Association. He looked after Test cricketers, Manchester United, and dancers and musicians in the North of England.
