ODSECS 40: Sophie Vasset

Oak galls, pigeons and brandy: discovery narratives of mineral springs in eighteenth-century Britain

Abstract: From Bladud's pigs rolling in the warm Bath waters to pigeons pecking the salts of Cheltenham waters, each spa has its own original tale of discovery which, between factual details and cultural references stages the serendipitous detection of mineral waters through the senses. As many narratives stage women or people from the lower classes at the origin of the discovery, they also channel inclusive ideas about the sharing of medical expertise between local communities and medical doctors. The microgenre of spa discoveries is an interesting observatory of the ways in which vernacular folk myths, local legends or mundane observations blend in with medical discoveries. This talk will offer a comparative overview of the mineral water discover microgenre: I have come across many such narratives of discovery in medical texts revolving around the notion of serendipity, re-emergence, miracles, or the wonders of nature. The discovery of a spring of mineral water inevitably brings hope for better days of healing and prosperity. These narratives stand at the crossroads of medicine, natural history and literature, offering insights into the cultural and material relationship of eighteenth-century British people and mineral waters.

Bio: Sophie Vasset specializes in eighteenth-century studies, at the intersection of literature and the history of health. She is a professor at the Université Paul Valéry, Montpellier, and member of the IRCL. From 2007 to 2021, she was an Assistant Professor at Université Paris-Cité. She has published extensively on eighteenth-century British literature (The Physics of Language, PUF, 2010), eighteenth-century history of medicine (Décrire, Prescrire, Guérir, Hermann, 2011; Bellies Bowels and Entrails in the Eighteenth Century with S. Kleiman-Lafon & R. Barr, MUP, 2017). Her last book, Murky Waters (MUP 2022), deals with the cultural history of mineral waters in eighteenth-century Britain and Europe. She has been part of several projects in the Health Humanities. From 2014 to 2022, she was a member of the steering committee of “The Person in Medicine Institute” at the Université de Paris. In spring 2022, she was a visiting scholar at Northeastern University, Boston.