# How to Survive in Renaissance England

An episode of [Dan Snow's History Hit](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1042631089), 21 Oct 2025, 39 min.

Audio: https://sphinx.acast.com/p/acast/s/dansnowshistoryhit/e/68f66229b5743a0a56c251a6/media.mp3?tk=eyJ0ayI6ImRlZmF1bHQiLCJhZHMiOnRydWUsInNwb25zIjp0cnVlLCJzdGF0dXMiOiJwdWJsaWMifQ==&sig=2R-r31uT0XOHXUrqNzkC4SGTGe732L8ocUQv_UEpgts

Quacks, wise women, barber surgeons and private madhouses - just some of the options available if you were to find yourself in ill health in the 16th and 17th centuries. Dan is joined by historian Dr Alanna Skuse to look at healthcare in Renaissance England, from healing the humours and blood letting to cross animal blood transfusions, skin grafts that involved attaching the face to the upper arm and the notorious treatments of patients at Bedlam, Britain's most famous psychiatric hospital. But not all treatments were bizarre or gruesome; in fact, early practitioners had some pretty progressive ideas around holistic health, the benefits of nature, sleep and friendship. Alanna shares astonishing stories of treatments, patients and practitioners from her new book 'The Surgeon, the Midwife and the Quack: How to Stay Alive in Renaissance England' Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore We'd love to hear your feedback - you can take part in our podcast survey here: https://insights.historyhit.com/history-hit-podcast-always-on. You can also email the podcast directly at ds.hh@historyhit.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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