Medicine and magic in Elizabethan London

Published by Oxford University Press in 2006, this scholarly monograph by historian Lauren Kassell explores the intersection of medical practice and occult traditions in late sixteenth-century London. The work emerged from a broader academic focus on the role of astrology and alchemy in early modern science, specifically examining how professional and amateur practitioners integrated these systems into their daily lives and diagnostic rituals.

Kassell’s research centers on the archival records of Simon Forman, a controversial yet influential Elizabethan physician and astrologer. By analyzing Forman’s extensive casebooks, the book moves beyond a binary view of magic versus medicine, instead presenting a nuanced study of how these domains were understood as complementary fields. It was received by the academic community as a significant contribution to the history of science, praised for its meticulous reconstruction of the social and intellectual landscape of London’s medical marketplace.