Pox: Genius, madness and the mysteries of syphilis by Deborah Hayden, Basic Books, $27.50/£20.99, ISBN 0465028810 Reviewed by John Bonner
ABRAHAM Lincoln, Adolf Hitler, Friedrich Nietzsche, Oscar Wilde, Ludwig van Beethoven, Vincent Van Gogh… many noted historical figures have joined the furtive queue at the STD clinic. So claims amateur medical historian Deborah Hayden, shining a light on the dark secrets of 14 famous names from the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Back then, up to 15 per cent of adults in the west were infected with syphilis. Very few would have publicly acknowledged that they had the disease.…
