Professor Laurence Brockliss will give paper entitled ‘Consulting by letter: The sad case of Mme de la Buretière’ at the next session of the TORCH Enlightenment Correspondences Network, to be held on Thursday, 12 February (Fourth Week), from 12.30 til 2, at Ertegun House (37A St. Giles’).

Consulting by letter was commonplace in the eighteenth century and several collections survive which contain the patient’s original communication as well as the doctor’s advice. Such letters are a good way in to understanding how better off men and women thought and talked about their bodies. The paper will begin by saying something about the genre in general, then concentrate on the exchange in 1724-5 between Mme de la Buretière of Chateaudun and the Parisian physician and academician, Etienne-Francois Geoffroy.

***Please RSVP to enlightenmentcorr@gmail.com by Friday, 6 February, if you plan to attend, to help us get an accurate count for the free lunch and cater to any special dietary requirements.****