ABSTRACT
In June 1744, the Bristol surgeon Alexander Morgan went to see a man who felt giddy and had pains in his head. Morgan noted down how his patient had fallen ill in the following words,
The third Day after the Wether happened to be very warm he changed his Thick Waistcot for a Linning one & being careless sat a quarter day in a Room that was wett the same evening he found himself not well & a little Feverish & thirsty for which he Went to Bed & Drank Plentifull of Sack Whey. The Next Morning he was very horse and out of order…1
While these are Morgan’s words, they are also those of his patient. For it was the patient who supplied him with the details of how he came to fall ill and ultimately require Morgan’s services. It was the patient who constructed a narrative from the physical manifestations of his or her illness.
