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Quackery: A History of the Worst Ways to Cure Everything

A Novel Idea

Hear stories about outlandish cures, experimental medicines and scams.

This is an online program. Registration is required. This event will not be recorded.

Murder By Degrees features a cast of skilled doctors, but quackery and scams were also rampant in that era. Hear author Nate Pedersen explore the bizarre, yet true, ways humans have attempted to cure their ailments. Co-author of Quackery: A Brief History of the Worst Ways to Cure Everything, Pedersen presents a fascinating look at history's most astonishing—and often dangerous—medical practices. "Quackery" is a compelling, morbidly humorous look at medicine's dark side.

Nate Pedersen is an award-winning writer and historian in Savannah, Georgia. With Lydia Kang, MD he is the co-author of Quacker: A Brief History of the Worst Ways to Cure Everything (Workman, 2017), PATIENT ZERO: A Curious History of the World’s Worst Diseases (Workman, 2021), and the forthcoming PSEUDOSCIENCE: A Brief History of the Worst Ways to Explain Everything (Workman, 2025). Nate and Lydia’s books have been published in 12 languages around the world.  Nate is a Contributing Writer with Fine Books & Collections magazine.  His academic writing has appeared in Oregon Historical Quarterly and Emerging Civil War. Learn more at https://www.natepedersen.com/books 

Murder by Degrees is a thrillingly atmospheric tale of intrigue, featuring a brilliant female doctor who’s ahead of her time. Set in Philadelphia, 1875, the debut novel by Ritu Mukerji, Dr. Lydia Weston is preparing for the start of a new term at Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania, when the body of a young woman is fished out of the Schuylkill River. The death is ruled a suicide, but Lydia is suspicious. As the investigation unfolds, Lydia puts to use all her diagnostic skills and autopsy table acumen to pursue the killer. 

Ritu Mukerji was born in Kolkata, India, and raised in the San Francisco Bay area. From a young age, she has been an avid reader of mysteries, from Golden Age crime fiction to police procedurals and the novels of PD James and Ruth Rendell. She received a BA in history from Columbia University and a medical degree from Sidney Kimmel Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. She completed residency training at the University of California, Davis and has been a practicing internist for fifteen years. She lives in Marin County, California, with her husband and three children.

Learn more about A Novel Idea here.

Questions? Contact laurelh@deschuteslibrary.org