Paul Slack, Plague: A Very Short Introduction

Abstract

There are few scholars as qualified to produce an expert summary of the intractable topic of plague(s) as Paul Slack, whose work on the impact of historical epidemics on early modern society has greatly informed much scholarship not only concerning the social history of medicine but also urban charity, vagrancy and public welfare. That such topics figure so prominently in studies of past plagues demonstrates the wide-reaching social impact of epidemic disease and ensures that plague in particular remains a subject of ‘perennial fascination’ (p. xvi). This neat little book, part of Oxford University Press's Very Short Introduction series, provides a concise yet tantalising glimpse into both modern and historical understandings of the causes, incidence and effects of past plagues, whilst serving as a springboard for readers keen to delve deeper into more detailed studies of these aspects. A particular achievement of the study is its skilful exploration of the many puzzles that continue to surround historical ‘plague’, particularly regarding its aetiology and epidemiology, and consequently its impact. Whilst the latest scientific discoveries have fuelled the ongoing debate about the culpability of Yersinia pestis in the first and second pandemics, which took place respectively in the sixth and the fourteenth centuries, this did not alter what Slack terms the ‘historical reality of plague’ (p. 12), that is, its very existence, for contemporaries.