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Skulls, height, hands, legs, sex organs, blood, brains, stomachs, ears and corpses – discover Irish history anew through the utterly unique prism of the human body.
From the brutal beheading of the red-headed Clonycavan Man some 2,000 years ago to the ancient skulls – believed to be those of giants – stolen from islands off Ireland’s west coast, medical historian Dr Ian Miller brings readers on a delightfully gruesome journey through our rich heritage.
Learn about the fears of excessive tea drinking that were once such a great cause for concern on this isle – scarcely believable! Meet the doctors who revolutionised Irish medicine in the 19th century – along with the deplorable bodysnatching that accompanied this progress.
Fact and folklore intertwine seamlessly throughout, providing the reader with an endlessly fascinating account of matters historical and mythological.
Dr Ian Miller is a senior Lecturer in Medical History at Ulster University, Northern Ireland. Ian is author of seven medical history books on topics including the force-feeding of hunger strikers, how the Irish diet changed (mostly for the worse) after the Famine and the surprisingly interesting history of the Victorian stomach. His work has featured in several BBC, RTÉ and Disney Plus shows, and in The Guardian, Independent, London Review of Books, New Yorker, Sunday Times and Times Literary Supplement among many others.